Blood and Snow
by AliasKei
Summary: COMPLETE Only one thing can mean a monumental change.... a KaoruEnishi Dramatic Romance Rated for Violence, death, and suggestive themes.
1. So It begins

The girl stirred as the ship rocked on the water

The girl stirred as the ship rocked on the water, Enishi glanced over, hoping she wouldn't wake up until they got there. He didn't want to be around when she awoke, hell he'd prefer to pretty much stay away from her altogether. A frown appeared across his face as he realized he was still watching the girl.With a short growl he stood up and walked out of the cabin, nodding to one of the attendants outside the door to watch her. He slung on his jacket haphazardly and grabbed a cup of tea from an unsuspecting lackey, then continued across the ship. At the bow, he paused and stared out into the horizon, sipping the tea. 

Kaoru laconically stretches as sleeps hold starts to fade away, Yawning loudly she sleepily mumbles.

"Mmm…s'breakfast ready yet Kenshi…n…" she pauses seeming to hear an answer although no one replies. "Ok then…just five more minizz…." She trails off and falls back into bed. Less than a few moments later, she bolts up again, in panic.

"I don't remember what…." She gasps as she realizes the last thing she remembers is Enishi grabbing her. She glances around, and takes in the whole image of the room. Although sparsely furnished, it's far from poorly done. Kaoru sighs and looks down at herself. She jumps out of the bed with a short yelp.

"Why am I wearing a bathrobe!?" her eye twitches as millions of possibilities flash through her mind, but she shakes them off. "I feel to refreshed for anything like that to have happened… and he said that he meant me no harm…." She trails off, wondering why she feels she should trust him. She frowns and picks up a vase.

"In any case, I need to get out of here. Kenshin needs me." She smiles fondly as she says his name. She walks out of the room and blinks as the sight of the island faces her. _How am I…_ she thinks to herself, but is interrupted by a voice.

"There's no use trying to escape" the voice says dully. Kaoru spins around ready to strike, but pauses, as she sees the speaker. Enishi is covered in bandages save for most of his face, and his arm rests in a sling, jacket hanging of the shoulder of the injured arm. His eyed also have a dull look to them, and Kaoru is taken aback at how different he seems. Enishi watches her as he continues.

"It's a deserted island, a relay station my organization uses to ship goods by sea into Tokyo. It's at least 20 kilometers to the nearest island, and there are sharks in the area. On top of that, except for the inlet you see before you, it's all shear vertical precipice. Aside from the weekly ferry, no one can get in or out. In short, it's a natural prison. You'll just have to be patient. Sooner or later I'll send you back to Tokyo." He finishes, Kaoru still frozen looking at him. After a minute of silence, she finally asks almost meekly,

"…how soon" she says, still looking quizzically at Enishi, as if trying to figure something out. Enishi smiles in response, thinking to himself _As soon as battousaiis dead_, yet he only responds,

"Well…. Not long." Kaoru finally seems to regain her composure, and she bluntly asks

"Just one more thing, why didn't you kill me? I was sure, I'd be killed….." Enishi stops smiling.

"That's not something we need to talk about" he says as he turns around and walks back toward the house. Kaoru watches him go. _I can't figure any of this out_. She thinks to herself. _Was it pity? . . . No. That can't be it. He all but said during the fight that there was no such thing in his heart. I don't understand. _She recalls his smile. _But it seems like his revenge is complete. Something's happening to Kenshin. Kenshin-- . . . I can't leave it like this. Somehow, I have to get off this island! _Still, she stands there looking after Enishi, making no move to go anywhere despite her mental pep talk. _There's something about him that…bugs me somehow…_ she trails off, not even knowing how to finish that thought.

Enishi eyed Gein as he walks down the hallway into the house. _That's right he thinks, his job here is finished… I'd better get rid of him soon_. He looked ahead again as he continued walking.

Kenshin still sat there, staring off into the silence and ghostly whispers that plagued his soul. Kaoru was dead… Dead like he killed Tomoe, dead like countless other people he slaughtered with his own hands, feeling the blood drip down, seemingly soaking into his very soul, where it would forever drip like the tears of his victims. His mind felt blissfully, yet still painfully numb. _How could I have believed I could atone, because of my foolishness more people suffered, and Kaoru…? Why her… She was the most…she was so alive. _His face twitched ever so slightly, had anyone been watching it would be doubtful they'd even notice. He sat there still silently, chained to his guilt like he'd chained his sakabatou to its sheath.

Yahiko spat up blood in one violent heave, as he flew into the wall of one of the shops. It dripped down his chin onto his twitching hand, his hand that was straining to lift his body off the ground. He cursed as the whale of a man approached before he could recover. _I'm going to die; I'm going to die right here, before I even…_ Yahiko winced as the huge hand lifted him by his skull in a painfully squeezing grip. He screamed out as the pressure intensified. _No I can't I've got to somehow…. And Kenshin…._He groaned.

Tsubame watched in horror as all that blood, and the screams… Her face contorted in a troubled mask of agony as she looked on until she couldn't stand it anymore. Shaking her head back and forth she backed up a few steps, and then turned around and broke out in a full run, determined to find someone to help. Glancing back and forth across the street to the scattering villagers, and some people watching in horror, she didn't see the figure that stood right before her, and crashed headlong into him. The figure caught her with an uff and then set her to the side.

"Where are you off to in such a frenzy" a cold voice said, followed by an odd breath that sounded like someone was inhaling a cigarette. Tsubame looked up to find a ominous looking figure with almost demonic bright yellow eyes looking down at her. For a while her mouth moved but no sound came out, and then finally, she squeaked out Yahiko's name. The figure looked up towards the town, looked back down at her, and then abruptly walked past her. Tsubame could do nothing but stare after him.

Yahiko winced as the crushing pain only continued, and then suddenly everything stopped, and he tumbled to the ground, where he lay, half unconscious, but still conscious enough to look up one last time to se the huge man bellow and fall. Yahiko used the last of his strength to roll out of the way, where he collapsed for good.

Saitoh wiped his sword of the blood coating it and sheathing it, walked away from the corpse.

Kaoru crouched low, sneaking down the hallway to where Enishi was sitting on the porch. I've got to get on that ship she thought, determined as her grip on the makeshift broom handle weapon tightened.Enishi leaned back, barely thinking of his meeting with Heishin, brushing it off like so much dust. Kaoru crept closer.EnishiAbruptly stood up, Kaoru darted behind a corner just before he purposefully strode by. Kaoru waited minutes, before she too, followed behind him at a distance.

Gein looked down the path from the beach watching after Heishin lost in a train of thought. _As opposed to the daring Enishi, who rules by fear, the prudent strategist Heishin, who rules by planning . . . He's much as I've heard. The delicate balance between them has guided the organization for many years . . But, to put it another way, if either of them moved to disturb that balance . . . _He stared towards the ferry he would soon be leaving on.

"Oh well, it has nothing to do with me," he mumbled aloud. He turned around to glance down the path just in time to widen his eyes in surprise as his body was cut apart in two swift strokes. Blood splattered across Enishi's face as the four quarters of Gein's body fell to the ground with a sickening thud, speckling dark splotches of blood across the sand, which soon soaked into the beach, a crab scuttled away from the masked face, forever frozen in a death mask underneath that no one would see. Heishin and his bodyguards came back down the path. Kaoru nervously looked on, her hand covering her mouth to stifle a sound of horror building up inside her. Heishin eyed the body with distaste as he spoke to Enishi,

"I see you decided to take care of it yourself." He observed.

"I prefer not to take any chances with my vengeance." Enishi replied, wiping off his blade and holding it off to the side.

"You remember your agreement" Heishin said, more a statement than a question. Enishi threw a sidelong glance at Heishin.

"I told you so earlier did I not? I care nothing for the position after this is done, you're welcome to it." Enishi said in a slightly dangerous tone, annoyed that Heishin brought it up for the second time this day. "Take those with you," he gestured to the bloody corpse lying on the beach, "and have them disposed of in the sea." Enishi turned around and started walking towards the house once more. One of Heishin's bodyguards made a gesturing glance towards the jungle. Enishi replied with a curt nod. Striding down the pathway, he didn't even pause in step to haul Kaoru out of the bushes and fling her over his shoulder, continuing to the house. Kaoru was still fighting her bile rising from the sight of the slaughter.Enishi dropped her none to gently on the doorstep of the house, Kaoru immediately rushed to the side and vomited into the bushes. Enishi eyed her with slight amusement, though it barely showed.

"I would have thought you'd be used to seeing blood, Kenshin gets cut up so much." Then as abruptly as a summer storm, his tone changed cold. "It's useless to try and escape, I told you before." He hauled her back onto the doorstep and into the house, forcing her against the wall. "Do you think you could have lasted the whole trip without being found? Do you know what they'd do to you if you were found?" A malicious glean lit Enishi's eye. "Many things far more depraved than you view my slaughter would be done to you, and afterwards you might even be hauled off to china and sold as a whore or a concubine, but that's only the nicest of scenarios" He let go of her suddenly and started walking down the hall "I suggest you wait here and bide your time until I return you." Still shocked, Kaoru barely forced herself to call barely above a whisper after him

"He was… your own man..." She looked at him, troubled. Enishi glanced over his shoulder at her as he paused in stride. After what seemed forever to Kaoru, but was in fact only a few seconds he answered.

"He'd already served his purpose, He was no longer needed." He said bluntly, turning around and walking away once more. Kaoru collapsed in the hallway once again, astounded at Enishi's cruelty, yet on the other hand, confused by his outburst of possible…concern. As she wondered what to expect next from him, she aimlessly glanced at her hand, realizing she must have dropped her makeshift weapon somewhere 

Kaoru woke up suddenly from a nightmare, Kenshin's decapitated head still stared at her, and the image imprinted red on the back of her eyelids. She panted hurriedly as she tried to wipe the image of Kenshin cut into four pieces from her mind, cut up just like Enishi had slaughtered his own man. Still disoriented, she stood up unsteadily and almost stumbled into the far wall before she caught her balance, she had to get out of here. Glancing about the room she couldn't find anything that would work as a weapon, so fearfully, she crept out unarmed. Shivering the whole way down the hall, she was startled by a whisper of a sound coming from the porch. Forgetting her fear, curiosity took over, and she crept towards the sound. She stopped crouching in the doorway, as Enishi sat hunched over his hands in what seemed like a sob.

"Tomoe…..Onee'san…." He whispered in a boyish voice, as if reliving the past. "I didn't even get to say goodbye.." Kaoru looked on with an emotion she couldn't quite distinguish. She stood up and made like to take a step forward, and just as she did, Enishi screamed.

"Why! Why aren't you smiling!" He screamed out at the air, jumping up out of the chair.He slumped a bit dejectedly "Don't look at me like that… Tomoe…." He said barely above a whisper, Kaoru had to strain to catch it after the surprise of his outburst. Enishi was now facing her, but he didn't seem to notice. Kaoru opened her mouth as if to say something when he continued with a dark hiss, "So that's it," he said looking up at her, but almost looking past her "Sheeee's alive, you're replacement, substitute…" Before Kaoru even realizes what happened, he has her by the throat. "She won't be content until you're killed! Die… Die!!"He yells strangling her, yet not conscious of her presence. Kaoru chokes out a breath and tries to speak, only a strangled squeak escaping her throat. Just as she's about to black out, Enishi contorts backward, stumbling, as if thrown. Seemingly seeing her for the first time, a troubled look of horror crosses his face as he stumbles into the chair and falls over to the ground retching violently. Kaoru looks on in a state of wonder, rubbing her throat. _So that's why he didn't kill me…_Kaoru thought, _The image of his sister's death when he was young . . . The shock, so great it turned his hair white, left a deep scar on his heart. He can't face any young woman without seeing his sister in her. So no matter how much he wants to kill me in his head, his body will refuse… _She watched him curl up into himself on the ground, Weakly Enishi whispers to the wind,

"Why… why won't you smile for me Onee..san….Tomoe…" Kaoru glanced at him one last time before creeping back to her room and falling onto the bed, mentally exhausted for some reason.

Kaoru awoke under the covers, with no idea how she got there. She remembered blacking out on top of the bed…Shaking her head, she decided it didn't matter and headed off to find the kitchen, there was obviously no one else on the island but her and Enishi, and it was doubtful he could cook.Upon finding the kitchen, she was surprised there was even supplies there, but she immediately rolled up her sleeves and grabbed a knife, quickly butchering a radish.Pausing, her thoughts strayed to Enishi. Hrm, come to think of it….

Enishi looks up to see Kaoru carrying a tray of rice, miso soup and fish.

"What are you doing" he asked. Kaoru didn't look at him until she set down the tray in front of him.

"Nothing. Only if you're cooking for one you might as well cook for two. You've barely eaten anything since you've been here. I know no one's using the kitchen but me. So eat up!" Enishi looked at the tray, as Kaoru turned to go. _The weakness I saw in him--if I attack the scars on his heart, it could make my sudden escape easier than I thought… _

__"You can clean your own dishes" she said as she walked off. _But… I don't like this. _She sighed_. I'm too nice… _

__Enishi stared at the tray as he remembered a time when Tomoe used to greet him as he came home. You must be hungry. Wait a minute, I was just making dinner … He picks up the miso soup and sips it.

"It tastes bad…"


	2. China Bound!?

Sano stared at the broken swordsman once again and cursed. He was sick of it. He abruptly pushed up and strode over to Kenshin and backhanded him for, well he'd lost count by now. Kenshin still didn't respond. With a long string of muttered curses, Sano flung Kenshin over his shoulder, not surprised at all when he got no response. Grumbling he marched over to a small housing district not unlike his own and called out at a door. The door slid open less than two minutes later, and Sanosuke marched right past a surprised looking young man with long dark hair, somewhere around the same age as Sanosuke.

"I've gotta do something about this damned piece of living carcass here" Sanosuke said flinging Kenshin to the ground. Kenshin blankly sat up and scooted against the wall, leaning over his sword once more. Sanosuke glowered at him. "I can't leave him like this. It's been a month, and although I thought about waiting a year I don't think things are going to change, or Enishi is going to leave him alone. I've got to do something with him." The longhaired man looked at Kenshin thoughtfully for a minute, and then started to clean up his inks and rummaging through a stack of papers in the closet. "Do you have anything Katsu?" Sano asked.

"I just may, hold on let me rummage it up" Katsu continued through his stacks of papers until he found a box. Lifting the box out of the mess, he carried it over to Sanosuke and set it down. He opened it facing Sanosuke and Sano's eyes widened in amazement.

"You mean, you…" Katsu nods.

"The syndicate here in Japan has tentacles all over the place, Including China. I'd suggest you take him there, the last place Enishi would look. If nothing else it'll buy you some time. With this you can get their help in any situation." Katsu lifts a small silver chain with a symbol affixed to it that was ornate yet at the same time simple, out of the box and hands it to Sanosuke "Just stay with him." Katsu lifts a fake bottom out of the box and takes out a few papers. "Here's information on who to contact, it's coded in the usual." Sanosuke nodded.

"Thanks Katsu, if you need anything…" Katsu shook his head.

"No, but I'll be sure to contact you." Sano nodded and left without another word.

The whole month oversea, Kenshin said nothing, but after a little coaxing from Sanosuke, he blindly traveled after him, like a stray dog with nowhere else to go. When they arrived in china, no questions were asked and no visa required, but Sano still had to find a place for them to stay, and he still hadn't any idea what to do about Kenshin.

One of the four bodyguards of Heishin approached Enishi late into the night. Enishi looked up from his usual spot on the balcony.

"What is it, If you've come to tell me the girl is crying again, I already know that." The huge man shook his head.

"It's about Kenshin. Heishin's been keeping it from you but he disappeared two months ago." Enishi cursed.

"Are you certain? Is there no trace of him?"

"Heishin sent word to the network. You know he's slowly trying to take over." Enishi nodded.

"And there's been no response?" he asked seriously

"None, but he's obviously no longer in Japan." The bodyguard said. Enishi narrowed his eyes in thought, and after a while responded,

"We'll wait for a few months longer and see if he's going to make a move." The informer nodded and left. Enishi sat thinking for long after that, wondering what Kenshin was up to… and if he'd gotten over his woman yet. Then he stood, and walked down the hallway, pausing by Kaoru's room. Kaoru was curled up on the bed hugging a blanket to her chest in her sleep, shivering as another tear escaped down her face. Without realizing what he was doing, Enishi entered the room and walked up to the bed, looking down at her, thinking to himself she was so young. He pried the blanket out of her hands and covered her with it. She stopped shivering quite so much; Enishi raised his eyebrow as she snorted out another sniffle in a very undignified manner. Chuckling to himself the thought of how unlike his sister she was… then his mood dropped once more to a heavy silence as he stalked out of the room, his hand running down her face coming away wet with tears, he shook them off. Nothing would get in the way of his justice, especially not this girl of Kenshin's

Sano collapsed into the couch at the rather expensive Inn. He sighed. Once again he was resorting to hiring out his services, yet it seemed to pay a lot better here, and no names were ever exchanged. He looked over at Kenshin who was sitting at the foot of the couch hunched over a walking stick Sano had earlier snuck in place of his sword. The sword was too conspicuous. Kenshin hadn't seemed to notice at all. Sano stared at Kenshin. The vagabond was so much older than him yet he looked like so much a little child now, especially with the bandages Sano had wrapped about his cheek and eye. As Sano was contemplating his makeshift disguise, trying to decide weather to change Kenshin's hair as well, a gasp came from the doorway. 

Sano looked up and was surprised to see one of the most delicate, yet beautiful women he'd ever laid eyes on. She was staring at Kenshin with a look that he couldn't quite read. Tears formed up in her eyes ah she just whispered one word.

"Shinta…" she whispered in what almost sounded like a heartbroken plea. She rushed to Sano's feet and hugged his legs as she spoke further, the same tone in her voice.

"Where'd you find him, what happened to him all these years, she was so sure that he was alive and now here he is but it's too late and I don't know what to say but I'm still so glad to have-" she blurted out in a speedy desperate babble before Sanosuke cut in.

"Whoa, whoa Jo-chan, wait up. Calm down and explain yourself, we aren't going anywhere." The girl looked up at him with tear-filled eyes and nodded. 

"I…It was probably about 20 years ago… Muh…My Family… or at least what became my family, she took me in though I had been abandoned. She was in Japan though, during the war. In front oh her, her older sister was cut down protecting a small boy that they had known. Shinta was his name. The rest of her sisters were killed as well, but she had been hiding the while time, and she knew he was alive because she saw him crawl out from under their bodies and afterwards bury them all by himself." The woman, probably somewhere around 22 herself smiled crookedly as she continued, "She had finally got the courage to come out herself, but a huge man came and she was frightened into hiding. He took Shinta away, and she followed, but after days of travel, she fainted. When she woke up next, she was in China. A prestigious family took her in as a …..pet," The woman said the word with fury in her voice. "They kept her only because she looked so childlike and her eyes were so strange. Knowing they would get rid of her soon, she taught herself how to perform poems and draw on command, in fear of being killed or thrown out." A sob broke the conversation, and the woman seemed too overwrought to go on. Sano pulled her up onto the couch and hugged her whispering that it would be alright and other nonsenses. After a while the woman calmed down and continued her story.

"After a few years, she collected the few things that they had given her, mostly precious ornaments that she could wear, and ran. She was 16 at the time, having spent 10 years with that cold prestigious family. She knew so little of people outside of politics though and was alone and vulnerable on the streets of China. Sooner or later a whorehouse scoped her out and recruited her." The woman paused, taken with emotion. "Her genteel manner carried her high in the field, and in a manner of a few years she had accumulated quite a bit of wealth. She bought her own townhouse, and could have lived on what she had left, but a horrible thing happened." The woman sobbed again for a few minutes. Sano was still absorbing the story, surprised that no matter where Kenshin went, something from his past always caught up with him. "I.. In her field, my…I guess you could call her my older sister, she wasn't old enough to have been my mother. But.. She had become addicted to opium" The girl whispered out, seeming so much younger in that second. "She continued working at the whorehouse, which I am somewhat grateful to, since she saved me from a similar fate. But if it would have saved her I'd rather I be subjected to the same fate. She died. Last year, she was so frail, and then she just didn't wake up, she was so young!" she cried out "Barely a decade older than me!" She looked of to the side for a moment before going on "Anyway I'm straying from the point aren't I. Ever since she…Mai was her name, was free of the family's imprisonment, She'd been searching for Shinta, through the underground information ways. The last information we had received before she died was that he had fought in the revolution in Japan as an assassin by the name of Battousai, and that he'd disappeared shortly after."

"That's an incredible story." Sano said after a while "Kenshin, no Shinta, has had the most… interesting past, no matter where he goes it always chases after him." Sano went silent in contemplation. "I wish I could say you've found him. But Shinta is no longer the man your …sister knew. Or that anyone knew for that matter." Sano shook his head "His past has finally gotten to him, horrible as it was and he's just an empty husk" The woman looked down at the ground after he had said that, Thinking. Suddenly her head snapped up.

"I know! You can come live at the townhouse! I'll try to bring Shinta back it's the least I can do to repay Mai for what she's done to me. I'll erase the past!" Sano smiled at that, after these tiring few months, he finally felt like there was some hope.

"May I ask your name?" he said. The woman gaped at him, just realizing she hadn't introduced herself.

"Wei Li" she said smiling. Sano then stood and flung Kenshin over his shoulder.

"Well then let's get going Wei Li, It's late and we should be home."


	3. Game Set!

Kaoru sighed as she stared out into the ocean, It had been months since she came here, and despite the fact that she was a prisoner, she really couldn't complain of her treatment. Enishi was rather cordial to her, in a cold sort of way. Every once and a while he'd comment on getting a cook, but as of yet he hadn't and he never refused Kaoru's cooking. She'd fallen into a daily routine of practicing her skills out in the forest from morning to nightfall, breaking only for meals. She used a wooden broomstick, as she lacked a boken to practice with. Less than a week after she started her routine, she found an assortment of bokens on a rack left in her room by the bed. She smiled to herself then, thinking that it would be nice if Kenshin could change Enishi around like he had Aoshi and Sanosuke. Enishi would be probably much more helpful around than that Freeloader Sanosuke, she fumed, and then grew sad as she wondered what he was doing. She took up a nice polished black boken and headed out to her clearing in the forest. She had learned that it was better to just not think about them, as she could do nothing to get to them. She halfway wondered why they had not come to get her yet, but she had also realized this thought only led to pain, as she had realized those months ago when she had started training. She had found it was easier to immerse herself in a relentless schedule of training which would leave little room for painful thoughts.

Enishi watched her in silence from the shadows, as he had been doing since he first noticed Kaoru going of into the forest. She really wasn't half bad. His spies hadn't really given him much information to that effect as they had kept tabs on Kenshin. Enishi assumed that being around Kenshin would not give her much opportunity to fight. He was tempted to go out ant correct her every time there was something she could improve on. Many a time he had left after only a short while of watching her for that reason. She had improved vastly in the few months she was here, but seemed to be in a slump for the last few days. He sighed inwardly to himself and stepped forward, grabbing her boken mid-swing. Kaoru looked at him startled. He let go of her boken, then replied to her confusion

"You'll get further with someone to practice with." He said calmly. Kaoru seemed to hesitate for a moment, but unable to come up with a reason against it, she nodded. Lowering her boken she said simply.

"My style is an art of defense, you will have to attack first." Enishi almost smiled and nodded, pushing off the ground at a speed that surprised Kaoru. He knew that she was fully capable of attacking, yet wanted to measure his skill and style. She would learn that was easier thought than done. But he would humor her for now.

Kaoru stretched as she stumbled into her room and flopped onto the bed. She'd gotten quite used to having a bed. It would be strange to sleep on a futon again. A tear slid down her face as she remembered what used to be. As hard as she tried to forget everything for as long as she was stuck here, it always came back to her at night. She sniffled burying her face in her hands as she brought her knees up to her chest.

She was glad that Enishi had started practicing with her, because she was left exhausted at the end of a day and it didn't take her as long to cry herself to sleep, but if he weren't around in the first place she wouldn't be stuck on this island far away from Kenshin. Kenshin, who hadn't come for her yet, her sobbing renewed at that thought. Half of her believed that something was keeping him away, but yet another part off her was almost sure it was just wishful thinking. She held on to her trust in him like a fire in the midst of snow, but as each day passed even the fact that he'd never failed her yet seemed to drift away like snowflakes in the wind. The fire could no longer keep away the chilling cold of her own bitter thoughts.

She'd always been so optimistic in the past, why was it failing her now. She even doubted her own ability to judge people. Everything she saw in Kenshin her mind twisted around and returned to her with a malicious end. Her fears told her that Kenshin had been changing ever since before the fight with Shishio when he first left her, and she feared that everything that had happened even before was a lie, although she knew it couldn't be true, at least she hoped so. Kaoru punched her pillow as she told herself to shut up and tried to keep her mind from wandering as tears slid down her face. She slumped onto her pillow still curled up against her knees. Her last thought as she fell asleep was that she somehow couldn't bring herself to blame Enishi for all of this.

Enishi leaned back in his chair sipping on some oolong tea. It was way to strong and a bit bitter but he paid no notice. Most anything was better than what he'd been forced to eat during the war. He wasn't really a picky eater anymore. Hell, he'd likely eat his own pet without regret if it came down to it… he'd eaten worse.

His thoughts came back to the problem he'd been pondering lately. Kenshin. Yes the Battousai was often on his mind. He had no doubt he'd get his revenge. He was already halfway there. But there was this issue of Kenshin disappearing. There had been no word of him and it had been a few months. It was likely safe to say that it could take years to find him again. From what he'd been able to find out the Sekihoutai survivor, Sanosuke, had also disappeared with him. He idly chewed on the end of a chopstick before sticking it back in the bowl of rice.

Sanosuke had some odd friends. Enishi frowned. They'd likely gone to China somehow. It seemed like the most obvious course. Sagara wasn't a complete idiot, and seemed to have some sort of fixation on Kenshin. He wouldn't easily let his friend be found. Enishi stared off into space in front of him. China was a big place. His mafia mostly had strings on the cost and most of the central regions. There were still the outer wilds towards the west, and the north. Even parts of the big city could be overlooked. This would defiantly take a while.

Then there was Kaoru. He really had no ill will towards her. She wasn't a fool like most of the women he'd met. Though many had been brought to him at gifts. He snorted. He had no interest in things like that. He hadn't had time, what with striving for survival, then ripping his way to the top of the underground world. And then there were his plans for revenge. Those had started shortly after Kenshin had settled in one place. Enishi supposed Kaoru could be considered partly to blame for Kenshin's state now, if one were to think about it. He wouldn't point that out to her though. She already seemed to have enough to cry about at night.

He should send her home. After he verified if any of her friends knew where Kenshin was. He almost wished they did, in one part of his mind, he'd never realized he was lonely until he'd spent so much time with her. He brushed the thought away like cobwebs. He defiantly needed to send her home. He needed to concentrate on finding Kenshin, she was no longer a part of his plan. She's already served her use, he'd thought as he'd stood and set the empty rice bowl down. Enishi walked towards his room as he told himself that he'd have someone check out Kaoru's friends. He'd know by the end of the week.


	4. Is it really Home?

Kaoru woke up. Once again in a strange place and strange clothing. She blinked, realizing that it was far to familiar to have been a strange place. She was home, in her dojo. She looked down at the clothes she was wearing, well at least she had been right about that. It was a Chinese dress, made of a dark purple silk with intricate orange tigers embroidered on it. She smiled. It was a nice dress. She squinted into the bright sunlight streaming into the room, why had Enishi taken her back, she couldn't Imagine he was done with his revenge unless…

"Kenshin!" she gasped and jumped out of bed, rushing out of the dojo, only to pause at the door. There was a note. She picked it up and opened it, only to find elegant calligraphy. She blinked, when had Enishi had the chance to learn to write so well. Despite the formal writing, the content was abrupt.

"Kenshin is not dead." It started, Koru sighed in relief, it figures that he'd know what she was thinking. She read on "He has disappeared, and is likely in China. I felt there was no reason to keep you, as your friends have no knowledge of where he went, or how to reach him. I will likely not se you again. But don't try to look for Kenshin, it won't do you any good. Please accept the dress for your trouble. Also supplied are the boken you used on the island, and your kitchen is stocked. Thank you for cooking for me."

Kaoru frowned. She still didn't like the thought that he'd likely dressed her. How did he move her in the night without her knowing? She absentmindedly looked at his signature at the bottom of the page. It was clean and quickly done with confidence. It was said you could tell a lot about someone through his writing. Enishi was not one to draw things out, he'd certainly gotten right to the point with his letter. She started fuming, don't go look for Kenshin indeed. What else was she supposed to do. She sighed and let the paper fall from her fingers as she slid the door to the dojo open and stepped out into the cool morning air.

Kaoru was startled from her revere by a hard thump on her head, she whirled around, smacking her assailant into the far wall. It was Yahiko. She glared at him

"What was that for you brat!" she yelled at him. Yahiko rubbed the back of his neck as he pushed himself off the floor.

"Well you're defiantly not a ghost." He grumbled wincing in pain.

"Why couldn't you just shriek and run away like a normal person would do, or heaven forbid…ask me!" she continued her tirade, fading off as she realized what Yahiko had said. "a ghost?" she asked "Me?" He nodded at her. She blinked.

"Why would you think I was dead when there was no body" she said oddly quietly. Was this why Kenshin hadn't come for her? An almost emotionless voice came from behind.

"I suspected as much." She turned around to see Aoshi looking coolly at her. Misao wasn't far behind. "It will be easier to show you than to explain. Come" with that he turned around and headed out of the Dojo.

The small portion of the original "Kenshin-gang" arrived at it's destination, although all but Aoshi seemed confused. The silent leader of the group seemed determined, and Misao, being able to read his subtle emotions, knew that he was also blaming himself for something. Although she wasn't sure what for. Aoshi paused at a grave and closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. As he opened them he made a quick movement with his foot and a huge hole appeared in the newly placed dirt. The top of a barrel could be seen buried in the ground. Aoshi crouched down and lifted it easily in his hands, placing it to the side of the hole.

Kaoru was looking pale, as she had noticed the name on the tombstone. It was simple, just a stone with writing almost painfully carved across it. The writing brought tears to her eyes, as she instinctively knew it had been Kenshin who wrote it. It was written in the form of a haiku.

"Kaoru. As she always followed me, I will forever follow her graceful shadow."

Misao watched Aoshi curiously as he pulled of the top of the barrel, and tossed the nail-ridden article aside, where it settled to the ground with a solid thump. Inside was the body of Kaoru, as they had last seen it, Cross-shaped bloody scar carved in her cheek, gaping wound in her stomach, and lifeless eyes. Kaoru gasped as she saw it, realizing that Kenshin must have seen it too. A new stream of tears rushed to her eyes, flowing freely.

"No," she whispered grievously "Not like this" she collapsed to her knees and cried over her grave, not for herself, but for Kenshin, who had lost a second person that was important to him. Both of them no better than by his own hand, that was the message left behind in the scar carved on her cheek. Misao spoke up, interrupting her silent mourning.

"Aoshi-sama, you said you suspected this?" she inquired, her voice a happier tone than she spoke to anyone else with. "What did you mean by that." Aoshi glanced sideways at the shorter Okashira. He reached into the wound in the body and pulled out what looked like a bunch of wires.

"The body was to perfect. Even with the wounds." He said coolly. "There were no signs of decay before the burial." He paused. "I would have said something earlier, but Sanosuke disappeared with Kenshin. Kaoru frowned and looked up at Aoshi, whipping her tears away.

"I heard about that. Exactly what happened?" she asked the scarred warrior. Aoshi looked down at her, Kaoru stood; disconcerted by his look, even though she knew he was basically harmless. Misao spoke up, knowing that Aoshi preferred not to speak much, and likely would not give a satisfactory response.

"After you died, Kenshin buried you himself and carved this stone" she said gesturing to the grave header. Kaoru nodded, she had surmised as much "Afterwards he sunk into a depression, chaining his sakabatou up. He didn't do much of anything after that, day after day he sat in a desolate part of town" Misao fidgeted a bit, uncomfortably going on with the tale. "Sanosuke went to him everyday, trying to break him out of it. At one point Tsubame even came and begged him to help Yahiko, who was almost killed by that big guy with the cannon arm."

"Saitoh saved me" Yahiko said bitterly, interrupting Misao and continuing her story for her. "Sano finally got sick of Kenshin's attitude and hauled him off" Kaoru looked at Yahiko's eyes and she thought she saw what seemed like a pleading look, but Yahiko looked away and wouldn't meet her eyes as he finished. "As far as I'm concerned, both Kenshin and Battousai are dead" he said abruptly. Kaoru looked at the ground.

"It's all my fault. I should have tried to escape harder, or done something." She said furious at her self, tears still in her eyes. "Damn it" she swore for the first time that she could remember "I even got along with that bastard! Hell he helped me train, I cooked him food!" her voice rose to a frightening pitch. Yahiko burst out in laughter at the last line.

"Aww Kaoru, you have nothing to worry about, your awful cooking is worse than any revenge." He grinned at her. Kaoru sighed inwardly, at least Yahiko's spirit wasn't as broken as it had appeared. She almost smiled as she decked him.

Aoshi considered Kaoru silently through the whole conversation. His eyes flickered slightly as she mentioned training with Enishi. Something had been bugging him about her, but he was glad he could pinpoint it now. She seemed to hold herself more confidently, as if she was surer of herself. Kenshin had always encouraged her kendo, but it must not have been enough. As she was now, she might even have caught up with Misao at the very least. She still wasn't anywhere near him, or Saitoh for that matter, but they had years, and experience at killing to hone their skills and their emotions. Even so, Enishi was very dangerous if he could bring about this much change in a person in a matter of months.

Aoshi sighed almost imperceptibly, the future looked bleak, they had all gained so much just to loose it so fast. He was almost afraid, afraid for all of them, if only one man could tear everything apart. He glanced at Misao who was looking at him with concern in her eyes. She must have caught his sigh. He looked strait back at her as if he were trying to convey that everything would be ok. He vowed to himself that he would make sure that for Misao at least, they would be. It was to late to save Kenshin.. or Kaoru for that matter, but the one that mattered most was still alive, and she still loved him, he'd be forever damned if he ever let her go. 


	5. Changing Tides

Enishi grinned. It had been almost a year since Kenshin had disappeared, but they'd finally found him. The course of events couldn't have been better if he'd planned it himself. It was almost like something he would have planned if he had taken the whole disappearance option into account. Kenshin was indeed in China as he had at first surmised. He was going by the name of Shinta… his original name from the information Enishi had gathered ages ago. Even better yet, he didn't remember anything. Nothing at all. He had forgotten Kaoru, and even his sister; Enishi inwardly twitched at the thought that his sister meant so little to the bastard. But he caught himself, he had known that from the beginning, or he wouldn't have sought justice in the first place.

Shinta hummed quietly to himself, a tune he didn't quite remember but it seemed familiar to him. He sighed and did his laundry, his and his sister's that is, and… he wasn't quite sure what Sagara-san counted as, but the fluffy haired companion was also family. He had awoken from a Coma after what they'd told them had been a fatal accident, which his wife had died in. He didn't remember who she was, or who any of these people were, but after he met them, the quickly became home. He had no other way to repay them, as he didn't have any skills that he knew of. He remembered how to cook and clean and that was it.

He sighed as he scrubbed at a particularly resilient article of clothing. He had suspicions that what they were telling him wasn't true, but they had been kind to him, and he had no care to go back to whatever past he had. He had a feeling that everything that he used to be was lost, whatever that was.

"Saaanooo" a voice came from inside the modest townhouse "Comeeere!" Shinta smiled, that would be Wei Li, his sister, or the sister of his wife as they had told him, no matter. Wei li and Sano seemed to get along rather well. He chuckled, if you called their constant arguing getting along well. Shinta was sure that they liked each other though, he would often walk in on awkward moments, and so he had learned to avoid them when they were actually being quiet.

"What do you want this time woman!" came the disgruntled protest from the other side of the house.

"Argh, why must you be so difficult when all I ask is a simple request" came the annoyed reply. Shinta grinned as the diatribe continued

"I just wanted you to help me put this up here. I can't reach high enough"

"That's because you barely come up to my knee you scrawny little wench" Sano roared across the house. Responsibilities seemed to suit him, Shinta thought offhand. For some reason something about Sano made it seem as if when he was being submissive he didn't feel at home or welcome where he was. He was not a silent person at nature, but at the same time Shinta had the feeling that being in charge or "the man of the house" was a new experience for the rowdy guy. 

"Ah you're no help! I'll just jump up here myself and try it" Shinta gulped at this comment. This did not sound promising.

"Oro?" he exclaimed somewhat tokenly as he heard Sano yelling from one side of the house, and a serried of thumps, separated by thirty seconds on the other

"Ah damn it woman, wait a minute, you're going to kill yourself!" he exclaimed and rushed across the house. Sano sighed as he entered the room to see the petite black-haired woman jumping clumsily up with a rather unwieldy object in her hands. Sano strode across the room in less than four steps and grabbed it from her, his bandaged hands brushing against hers. She looked up at him, lowering her arms halfway to her side and then as if in second thought, grabbing his scarred hand in her smaller flawless ones. She smiled at him and his annoyed expression softened.

"Woman," he started quietly and seemed to trail off. "Wei Li" he continued affectionately, almost spoken like a caress. She mouthed his name as he pulled her to him and took her mouth in a passionate yet gentle kiss.

Shinta had paused in his chores as the thumping had stopped. Their was a period of silence in which he feared it might be another one of those Awkward moments where he wanted to avoid the house. The thumping started again, but an altogether different kind. Shinta groaned. Now he knew he wanted to avoid the house. He would make sure this particular chore took as long as possible. He chuckled to himself as he slowly continued scrubbing. He had to admit, it made thing interesting, having to guess when to avoid what rooms and how long.

Kaoru awoke drowsily from her deep sleep, squinting as the sun pierced her half closed eyelids. She had meant to get up earlier. She yawned, stretching out her arms in the empty room around her. She was used to the empty room, as she had always been alone in that case, but it was lonely knowing that the room over, where Kenshin used to sleep was empty, it was comforting to know at least Yahiko was there, but she would never get over Kenshin's absence. She had in fact looked for him for months after she had returned, but Aoshi finally stopped her, reasoning that if they hadn't found even a single clue yet, they likely wouldn't. Kaoru almost cried, but Aoshi reassured her in his own way saying that if anything happened they'd hear where he was, and as long as nothing was happening they wouldn't know anything, so the best thing to do was wait.

Kaoru was disturbed and at the same time relieved by this. It meant Kenshin was safe now. She almost didn't want to find him because that could mean something had happened to him, and that she wouldn't wish for the world. But at the same time she wanted to find him because she desperately needed to see him. It had been a year at least since she'd seen him last. The only thing that got her through day after day was throwing herself into her role as a teacher to Yahiko. He had gotten further than she had ever imagined, and she even got some more students from people who had witnessed his strength against the huge half-armed samurai he had fought so well but almost lost to earlier.

Kaoru snorted. Speaking of her stupid student, she thought to herself, why had he not gotten her up earlier when she had failed to awake herself. Suspicious. Maybe he went out cavorting with some of those new students of hers. She wouldn't put it against the lot of them to go off and get into trouble even this early in the morning.

She pushed herself out of bed and kneeled in front of her trunk of clothing. She stopped at the middle, where meticulously folded and placed was the Chinese dress she had received from Enishi. She hadn't worn it since she found out what the bastard had done to Kenshin. She didn't even know why she still had it, she told herself as she stared at the offensive object in her hands. She picked up an end in each hand and grasped it tightly, making as if to rip it, but she paused, placing it back in its place. She stared for what seemed like hours before picking it up once more and donning it. Reasoning that it wouldn't do to waste such a nice article of clothing, whomever it might be from.


	6. Preparations...

Yahiko turned around abruptly, only to gape at Kaoru. She was wearing that weird dress that she had on when she came back. She looked a lot older. Especially with her hair still braided as she had it at night.

"What are you hiding Yahiko?" she said menacingly. Damn, Yahiko thought to himself, she'd noticed the slight movement of his hand hiding the note he found in his shirt. She was always surprising him with her abilities. He guessed this was one time his pickpocket skills hadn't come in handy enough.

Kaoru looked suspiciously at Yahiko, she had caught that obvious hide. What could he possibly want to hide anyhow? She frowned at him, waiting for him to bring it out. He did. It was a letter. Her eyes widened as she snatched it from him. That writing was familiar! It was from Enishi, but what could he possibly want of her, or tell her. Maybe it was something about Kenshin. She opened the letter, he eyes drawn automatically to Kenshin's name. Her breath caught as she went to the beginning of the letter to see what it was about. 

_Due to certain circumstances, I thought it would be fitting for you to come with me to retrieve Kenshin_. 

Kaoru frowned. There was something cryptic in the way this was written. She wished she knew the circumstances. She paled; maybe he was ill or dead? She read on. 

_He is, as I thought, in China. We will be leaving three days from now. You have that much time to decide weather to come or not, though I have no doubt you will for your precious Kenshin._

Kaoru glared at the letter, he was mocking her but he was right, she would come for Kenshin. 

_I'm sure you will likely share the news with your friendly community of friends, so I will allow you to bring one and only one of them. Their health will not be assured, though I will not bother with them. Your safety is promised. They need not worry._

_As for a meeting place and time, don't bother, I will come for you._

The letter ended abruptly with that followed only by Enishi's now familiar signature. Kaoru looked up at Yahiko. He was staring at her in determination.

"I knew it wouldn't do any good to hide it, because Enishi would come for you" Yahiko started "But I did it anyway" he looked down at the ground. "I want you to bring me along" Kaoru was startled, but in no way completely surprised.

"You saw what he wrote" she said calmly "I'm safe" Yahiko glared.

"I don't trust him." He nearly shouted at her. Kaoru slapped him, his face turned to the side with the impact as the air was filled with the resounding smack. Kaoru's eyes widened. What had come over her. She looked at Yahiko with regret as she apologized.

"I'm sorry. I know you're just worried about me, but you can trust Enishi's word." She paused for a moment, before continuing almost silently "Besides, he can't kill me anyhow." Yahiko stared determinedly at Kaoru. He wasn't going to give up on this she could tell.

"Fine, you may come." She said "But from this point on you will no longer be my student, and will be acting on your own" she continued stiffly "I will not be responsible for my own students death. Enishi will not protect you, and neither will I" she finished. Yahiko nodded and walked out of the dojo to think. Kaoru looked after him. 

She had changed a lot. Yahiko thought to himself, just as everything had. He was loosing everything once again; everything was slowly falling apart as his life first had when his father had died. Yahiko clenched his fists trying to stop the tears from falling. Nothing was lost yet, he told himself. There was just a big misunderstanding. He stared at the ground guiltily, he wasn't going with Kaoru to assure her safety, but because he had to see Kenshin. He was the only one who could fix everything, He always did. Even when they had fought for him, he had watched on in case something had happened. Or the one time he couldn't be there he had sent his own Shishou to protect them. He just had to see Kenshin before all hope was lost. He would know only then, if everything would be alright in the end. 

Aoshi sat on the roof of the dojo, overhearing the whole argument. He had already read the note before they had woken up, when he saw Enishi come by and place it there himself. Aoshi hadn't interrupted the dangerous warrior. He had no wish to get involved with him. The title of strongest was no longer important. He only wanted to protect what he already had. He had watched as Yahiko walked out of the dojo, clenching his fists in frustration. This was their problem, he thought to himself. He would not interfere, nor did he want to. Enishi was as strong as Kenshin already, and Aoshi could tell he had some more tricks up his sleeves He frowned. All that was left to do was keep Misao from knowing. She would meddle. Then he would have to follow. He wasn't sure he could protect her and that, he couldn't have. Aoshi seemingly melted into the shadows, although there was no one to see anyhow. 

Kaoru grew exceedingly anxious as the appointed time drew nearer. Tomorrow she would leave to see Kenshin. Her hands shook as she paid her respects to her ancestors, burning a new stick of incense. She politely bowed in front of them before taking her leave. She sighed, running her hands through her hair as she wondered if she should pack anything or not. She frowned, wishing that Enishi had put more information in the letter he had left.

Walking towards the kitchen, Kaoru decided to start dinner. She wasn't particularly hungry, but she needed something to do. As she idly cut vegetables, she pondered just exactly what kind of a person Enishi was. Although she had spent months with him, he had rarely talked, and even when she sparred him, he didn't inturupt with pointless taunts. She paused in her cutting. Now that she thought about it, he hadn't even given her any tips, just waited for her to come to her own conclusions. The way he had helped her was invaluable though. He never attacked the same way, or in the same style, except when she couldn't beat the previous one, he'd repeat it until she figured it out. Kaoru doubted in that whole time she had ever seen his actual style. She frowned. You could tell a lot about someone by his fighting style.

She knew nothing about him. She frowned. How was she going to do this? Sighing she resumed cutting vegetables. It didn't matter how, she would do it, and she would do it for Kenshin. 


	7. ...

She had expected him, but she was still surprised when he came. She had been watching the rainfall while sipping on a warm cup of tea under the overhang. The rain fell on the roof in a soothing rhythm, and she looked down at the still liquid in her cup. When she looked up he was there, hair soaking wet, bits and pieces dropping under the weight of water, yet it still seemed to wildly defy natural laws. He looked anything but drenched or pathetic. Even though, he was indeed, drenched.

Kaoru blinked at him as she came to the realization that he would look in his element no matter the circumstances. There was an odd sort of confidence that always followed him, as if he never had to be afraid of anything. A bitter thought briefly ran through her head as she wished she could do the same. She brushed her jealousy aside and stood to approach him. His eyes seemed to shift quickly, as if analyzing her in but an instant. Before she could step forward, he tossed an object towards her, she unconsciously caught it, just realizing he had thrown something by the time it hit her hands. She looked at it. An umbrella, she laughed silently to herself, opening it and stepping out into the pouring rain.

"He's coming too" Enishi said, more an observation than a question. Kaoru looked behind her to see Yahiko in the rain on the opposite side of the yard. He almost looked lost in all the water. She nodded, seeing the determined look still emblazoned in Yahiko's eyes.

"His choice not mine" she said. Enishi didn't even nod in response, simply turning around and walking out the gateway. Kaoru and Yahiko followed. Yahiko clutched a shinai in a solid grip, his knuckles almost turning white. Kaoru paid no notice, without Kenshin, it was as if there was nothing to hold them together.

Kaoru couldn't help but watch Enishi as he walked forward passively, no sign of any emotion in his movements. It was different than the cold emotionless ness portrayed by Aoshi. It seemed, she paused in thought, it was hard to tell, but there seemed to be a great difference between the two for certain. Aoshi was more likely to be hiding emotions he did not want others to see, Enishi it would be perfectly believable that he didn't have any… except in concerns to his past. She tilted her head in contemplation as she walked through the puddles on her raised wooden shoes, splashes just falling short of her feet.

It would be easy to say they had died with his sister, but that didn't seem the case. Enishi wasn't one to wallow in self pity, as he had displayed by his lust for vengeance. It almost seemed like he had overloaded whatever senses one feels with, and paralyzed the capability to produce feeling for anything new . And Kenshin, being in direct connection to his past, brought back what emotions he had once created back full force. Like a match to a candle.

Kaoru stared at the ground. It wasn't good to be picking people apart like this when you really had no clue, but in her mind it seemed to reverberate as truth, in one sense or another. She had been sinking into deep thought a lot lately. Something she never had to worry about with Kenshin around. Everything seemed so superficial and happy, or she'd be frantically worrying about his welfare and mentality. She almost halted in the middle of the road but caught herself before she did it. Superficial? Was that really…. Had she really thought that?

Yahiko noticed Kaoru almost stumble, and wondered what she had been thinking about. Everything still seemed like it was falling apart. He wished at the very least Sano was here. Sano always had absolute faith in Kenshin. He grimaced, so had Kaoru, but something had defiantly changed. He almost cursed. If Sano was there he could at least have held the group together despite any differences. Yahiko sighed, that wasn't possible though, because if Sano were there, Kenshin would be too. He stared at the ground. And no one would know that Kaoru was still alive.

Enishi walked ahead of the group, he looked up into the falling rain, it was always interesting to watch as it fell in strait lines, how it appeared to be closer together the further up he looked. He knew that wasn't the case but just a trick of distances. Being a fighter, he had learned to judge distances for what they were. He half smiled as he remembered one particular report when Kenshin had fought the oniwabanshu's Hanya and was tricked by something as simple as lines on his opponent's arms. Kenshin was a good fighter but he relied too much on his intuition. It was better to judge things with cold brutal facts and act accordingly

Enishi stared forward, quite aware that when it involved Kenshin, his emotions often clouded his judgment. Luckily, he had learned to purposely overestimate his opponents as to allow for discrepancies caused by emotions. Emotions were a waste and a weakness. Although he did love his sister more than anything, he'd be glad when this whole business was over and he could condemn his emotions to only memories. He didn't like the extent of their power over him, or the fact that at some points he bordered on insanity. He wanted to finish this whole justice as quickly and abruptly as possible, but at the same time somewhere inside him an angry voice screamed and craved for a prolonged endless agony and suffering. Enishi narrowed his eyes, thinking to the voice, "enough". He would compromise.

His four identically huge bodyguards, as usual surrounded Heishin. He hated Enishi. Enishi didn't seem like he would be giving up the syndicate anytime soon. Heishin frowned bitterly. That would change soon. All his plots to do things behind Enishi's back had failed so far; the taller man seemed to stumble upon everything. He was too lucky. But that, as well, would soon change. He waited now for Enishi to arrive at the ship. Now there was nothing he could do, but as soon as they were at sea, things would change.

The bodyguard to the left and behind him eyed Heishin suspiciously. He knew he was up to something. He would need to report to Enishi soon. The other bodyguards were idiots, if the had not yet noticed. But that was just as well, he'd hate to kill them. He owed Enishi his life, and if he completed this particular mission, Enishi had agreed to take him on as a silent partner. He grinned, but it did not show. This huge body was but another masterpiece of the now deceased Gein. No emotions he did not wish to would show.

He had no name now, but Enishi had promised him one once he had proved his worth.

The trio arrived at the huge ship. Kaoru gaped up at it; it was not unlike the one Kenshin had described Shishio having. Not surprising as Enishi was his supplier. Enishi stopped abruptly in front of the ship as they lowered a ramp. Heishin waited at the top. Yahiko's eyes widened at the sight of the four surrounding him, they were huge. Enishi started up the ramp, an aura about him that prevented anyone from questioning his authority. He led Kaoru to a room aboard the ship, opening the door for her.

Inside there were clothing and other supplies. Kaoru smiled humorously, she needn't have worried about packing that's for sure. She was glad she had decided against it. The room was simple with a soft mattress bed. There was a door on the right wall; She looked at Enishi questioningly,

"My room" He said simply. Kaoru nodded, paying no further attention to it. In a usual scenario she would have decked him for the presumption, but she had never met Enishi in a normal situation, and doubted she would. Who knew what kind of depraved killers were on the boat. She knew Enishi wouldn't harm her, as long as he had a purpose for her when they reached China. That he likely couldn't wasn't something she would bring up. If she needed to, she'd use that to her advantage once she reached China.

"You will have to find a place of your own to sleep" Enishi said, his deadpan look boring into Yahiko in a way no intensity would have. Yahiko's eyes widened and he nodded. He hated to say it, but Enishi frightened him greatly. He would rather brave the huge ship than ask anything of the emotionless warrior. 


	8. Complications?

Kaoru explored the room after both Yahiko and Enishi had left, Enishi leaving through the door to the right. She had to admit, Enishi was really thorough with everything. Once again he had supplied bokens. She wondered if he would help her train again, while they were on the ship to china. She certainly wouldn't have a lack of free time. She sighed, sitting on the cushy bed. She had never even seen a bed like this until the day she was kidnapped. Or had it been the same day, she pondered briefly, it could very well have been the next. She shook her head it didn't matter either way.

Standing up, she headed over the chest at the foot of the bed. It, like everything else in the room, was bolted down. Likely in case of storms, it wouldn't be good to be crushed by a piece of furniture sliding around. She opened the trunk, wondering what sort of clothes Enishi had in mind. She chuckled

"I would almost feel like a dress up doll" she said aloud to herself. The sound of her voice filled the room, almost seeming to echo, and Kaoru felt a tear slip down her face at the emptiness. It was almost like things were before Kenshin had arrived. She closed the trunk and buried her face in her arms atop it. She had never told anyone how thinks were before he came. She disliked prying into peoples past, probably because she full heartedly wished to forget her own.

It had been a long time since she last thought of it. She was alone in the dojo for years after her father had died, and although many people knew her, and she had students to fill her days, the nights were the worst. She would have preferred the company of thieves or criminals, or even to be in the midst of a chaotic war, to being alone. Many times when she was with people she was afraid she'd wake up one day and find herself surrounded by the night again, in an empty room.

She had often wandered the dojo, over to where her father slept. It was always empty. Many nights she'd end up crawling into the small room used for bathing, because it didn't seem so empty. That's why she had so easily accepted Gohei's brother story, she just didn't want to be alone anymore. Some days she even wished her father had arranged a marriage for her. She had been so happy when Kenshin had said those words.

_"I'm a little tired from traveling…. I'll stay here for a while" _She had almost cried tears of happiness. She may have been a little hard on Kenshin… but he had never taken it badly, and if she hadn't thrown herself into enthusiastic actions, she may well have remembered again. The loneliness. Because, she was afraid of being alone.

Enishi watched her cry on the trunk at the foot of the bed. He had heard her talking to herself vaguely through the walls, and wondered if someone might in fact, be there with her. He opened the door only to see her crying. He frowned to himself. That girl was always crying. He was about to close the door when he heard her whisper to herself

"I'm afraid of being alone" a broken sob followed and her tears still didn't stop. Enishi watched silently. His sister had been her age when she had married Kenshin. He wondered if she had shed just as many tears. Somewhere inside him, anger grew anew at Kenshin, but he quelled it for now. It wouldn't do him any good. He leaned against the doorjamb watching her cry. She was pretty when she cried. He frowned. His sister had always had that kind of silent sadness following her around after her fiancée's death. She had always looked beautiful as well. Tomoe never came to him though. He was her brother but she didn't trust him, or thought him too young to understand. He understood his sister was hurt, but it obviously hadn't been enough.

He wondered if Kaoru knew what it was like when someone you loved wouldn't trust you with their secrets. He frowned. Love. That was an emotion he'd never loose to again. No one could possibly be as deserving as Tomoe had. People had said he had a sister complex, when he was young. It may be true, but what was the harm in that when all he wanted was her happiness. Once again he briefly wondered if his revenge on Kenshin would bring his sister happiness, but he knew he was doing this as much for himself as anything else. A part of him knew that it likely wouldn't make a difference, but if nothing else, it would quell the voices inside him, that cried out in pain.

He made to close the door again, as his mind wandering was starting to disturb him, when he noticed she was no longer sobbing. She had fallen asleep. He strode across the room and picked her up, not knowing what drove him to do it. Something in him wanted to comfort the lost little girl he saw in her, but this was the most that he would let himself do. He set her on the bed but before he could pull his arms away she grabbed his hand. He almost jumped. He hadn't expected that. He sighed in relief as he realized she was still asleep. He wouldn't want her to see him doing this.

What she did next really did make him freeze. She reached a hand up to his face and placed it along his cheek. He hadn't let anyone touch him like that but his sister.

"Papa… why can't I remember your face anymore" she said, whimpering in her sleep as another tear ran from her already swollen eyes. Enishi decided then, not to jerk away from her, as he was tempted to do. He waited a few minutes and sighed in relief as her hand fell on it's own. He lifted her other hand from his and placed it to the side. She clutched at him and he frowned at her, but that hand soon fell to her side as well. He pulled the covers over her, and placed both her hands across her chest. He turned and walked away, deciding right there to ignore the whole event as if it had never happened. Yet he couldn't forget the way her soft yet callused had felt on his face.

Yahiko paused outside Kaoru's room, almost tempted to rush back inside. He straitened his shoulders and walked forward. He would not dishonor his parents. Not when he already had so much to make up for. He hated owing people anything, but Kenshin, he owed everything to, and it would take everything he had to repay him. He finally looked about the ship. It was very occupied, and though there were a few people looking at him curiously, most were going about whatever business they had, or were on their way somewhere.

It was hard to tell what kind of people they all were, because there was such a mix. Yahiko walked over to a pile of rope, and making sure it wasn't going to be used for anything, sat on it. He surveyed his surroundings closer. Half the people here weren't what they seemed. There was something off about it all. He finally spotted a small man surrounded by four huge bodyguards. They all looked identical except for a strange tattoo on their forehead. Yahiko was startled as one stared strait at him and grinned. What a row of teeth!! Yahiko looked away. It would be best to avoid them. He set to searching out any other people he'd need to avoid. It would be a long trip, and he needed to keep his wits about him if he was going to live through it.

He smiled at the boy sitting on the ropes. The boy turned away. That must have been Kaoru's companion. Enishi had informed him of the girl he was bringing with him. His secondary goal was to watch her, Enishi had said, and make sure no harm came to her. But likely he wouldn't have to. Enishi needed no help doing something so simple, and besides, his first mission was soon to be over, if he was hearing things right from Heishin. As soon as he informed Enishi, he would likely be allowed to kill the short ugly little man. Heishin's plan wouldn't have worked even if Enishi didn't know about it beforehand. Heishin was a fool.

Heishin grinned as he briefed the bodyguards on their mission. They were to go after Kaoru in her sleep, and when Enishi rushed in to save the girl, the others would come in from behind and he'd be surrounded. The plan was perfect.

The boy sneered inside the intricate machinery that he was in. Heishin highly underestimated Enishi. He was almost tempted not to tell Enishi, and watch Enishi kill them all in less than a minute. But since the girl would be involved too, he had to tell Enishi or he would have slipped up on two missions. Enishi would have understood the amusement of the first choice not to tell him, but he would not be amused if Kaoru was in any danger. He needed the girl for something. 


	9. boy oh boy.

Kaoru woke up in the bed, not remembering how she got there. She must have crawled into it sometime between… she paused mid thought. She couldn't even remember what she was doing last. She backtracked through what happened the day before and finally after going through everything, she remembered she had been crying again. She got angry. She was always crying. It was useless. Hadn't she already learned that before when Kenshin left the first time? She sighed. It was no use getting angry about it either. All she could do was try to go on normally. And like a normal person would do, she decided she'd get dressed.

Finally she'd get around to seeing what weird clothes Enishi had chosen for her. She walked over to the trunk and opened it. She pouted, nothing strange yet. Just a simple Kimono, although the pattern was very nice. She decided to search through the rest of the trunk in hopes of finding something. Five minutes, nothing, just an assortment of kimono's, a few Chinese dresses, a shirt and pant combination, Chinese style as well. A few gis and one or two Hakamas. She sighed exasperated. She didn't know what she had expected to find. Enishi obviously wasn't a depraved pervert. She eyed the door. Maybe he was a voyeur. She shook her head at herself and giggled. Maybe she was going a little to far. She briefly wondered why she hadn't found a bathrobe in the trunk.

She donned one of the simple Kimono's, with a light red, but not quite pink design, with blue lilies patterned on. She wasn't quite used to the more revealing Chinese clothes. Wondering if Enishi was in his room, she walked over to it. Before she even got in a second knock he opened the door abruptly. He raised an eyebrow at her and stepped to the side, inviting her to pass into his room. Kaoru hesitated, but not long as she stepped past him, determined to ignore the strangeness of her recent circumstances.

Enishi's room was also mostly bare, his bed was much larger than hers, but it was far too extravagant. She realized she had been staring at the bed for probably a minute now; she blushed and continued her survey of the room. Enishi caught her blushing. Apparently he wasn't the teasing type, because he said nothing, but she couldn't help but feel like he was laughing at her.

Enishi had two trunks in his room, one was just like hers, but smaller, and the other one seemed suited for the length of a sword. She looked back at him, it was the first time she'd seen him without it. No that wasn't true, he rarely carried it on the island about the house, It was only when he left to the rest of the surrounding island that he brought it. She doubted it would be hard for him to get to it even in here.

Kaoru stopped as she spotted a mirror on the wall. Enishi didn't seem to be the kind of person who cared about his looks. She looked over to him, yet she had to admit, he never looked bad, and he usually looked rather neat. Maybe she was wrong. 

Enishi had leaned against the wall to watch her look about his room, his arms hanging at his side, but it seemed to give about the same effect as if he had crossed them over his chest. She stopped suddenly and looked over at him. He figured she was trying to figure something out about him. He often got that feeling from people. He took the opportunity to walk over to a trapdoor in the room that she obviously hadn't noticed. He kicked it open with a foot and looked over at her, waiting for her reaction.

Kaoru eyed the trapdoor. She really hadn't noticed that. But now that she saw it, it was rather obvious. She looked back up at Enishi, meeting his eyes. Enishi didn't break the look as he jumped down in the hole. Kaoru didn't hear him land, but heard a voice from below speak up to her.

"You may want to use the stairs." Enishi said calmly "It's pretty deep." Kaoru took his advice and slowly climbed down the stairs, looking down to see if he was looking up her skirt. She couldn't even see where he was. He was obviously not near the stairs. She sighed and descended the rest of the way. Obviously there were things she wouldn't have to worry about around him like she had around Sanosuke, and sometimes even Kenshin, though she knew she had no need.

She blinked as she reached the bottom of the stairs. It was a huge dojo in the bottom level of the ship. She shuddered at the thought that they were likely surrounded by water entirely. The floor was wooden, but underneath it felt like metal. It was very likely since the whole craft was made of metal. She looked across the room where Enishi stood; He was staring at an intricate Chinese painting of a Tiger stalking his prey. He stared intensely into it and seemed as if he was drawn in. Kaoru noticed that Enishi and the tiger moved almost the same. With a confident, yet determined grace. Even so, it was impossible to disguise how deadly either was. She shivered again. Enishi spoke without turning around.

"The only entrance is through my room. Feel free to practice here anytime. I may join you if I'm not busy." He looked over one shoulder at her "I trust you do not mind" he smiled. She was entranced. It was the first time she had ever seen him sincerely smile, no malicious or mischievous intent behind it. She nodded. Enishi strode across the room and right past her, easily sprinting up the steep ladder in two steps and disappearing into the room above. Kaoru stared after him until she heard the trapdoor fall to a close.

A small boy hid in the shadows of the ship that night. The bulk he usually carried around would have been too obvious in the dim shadows of the rocking ship. He glowered at the doorway he was heading to, there was too much light. He didn't want to be noticed. The boy sunk further into the shadows as he waited. There would be an opportunity soon enough.

No sooner had the boy thought that than the door opened. A tall figure stood looking strait at him, although the boy knew he couldn't be seen. The tall man in the doorway pushed up his glassed and turned around, leaving the door open. The boy grinned, the door cast enough shadow for him to get by. Enishi was really thoughtful sometimes. 

Enishi heard the door close behind him. The boy was really very good at what he did. Enishi frowned briefly as he remembered their meeting two years ago. The circumstances had been unusual, and he didn't like to think about it. He wiped the frown from his face and turned around to face the boy. He almost felt as if he was looking into the past. The boy looked very similar to him as a child, except the paleness of his hair and eyes was natural. He regarded the boy silently. 

Kaoru peaked through the keyhole of the door. She hadn't expected to actually have a clear picture of Enishi's room through it. She chuckled, now she was the voyeur. Enishi opened the door to the deck of the ship. Her heart sunk, was he going out? She had wanted to watch him for a while to….to what? She wondered briefly. Her thoughts were interrupted when Enishi entered the room again. Maybe he had just wanted fresh air. Her eyes widened. Someone else had entered the room, she wouldn't have seen the boy if he hadn't stepped out into the light after closing the door behind him.

He reminded her of Yahiko in a way. The boy may have been shorter than Yahiko though, and his eyes were older than his years for sure. Yahiko had often had that look but only when he thought no one was looking, but this boy, his eyes seemed to fall forever inside of him like a window to an empty soul.

His hair was even whiter than Enishi's and shined with an almost ivory or metallic sheen, Kaoru knew that only foreigners had hair like that, and she wondered where Enishi had met or found the boy. His hair was feathered, and seemed to rebelliously fall down around his face, though it also seemed as if he had tried to manipulate it to imitate Enishi's. They started talking, and although Kaoru couldn't make out what they were saying, she realized, for the first time, how hypnotic Enishi's voice could sound. She shivered, as it seemed to flow over her like a warm summer breeze.

Her fascination was abruptly pushed to the side as the boy spoke. His voice had changed from the unintelligible murmur to a tone that burned like ice. It had not increased in volume but she heard every word as clearly as if she had said them herself.

"…because he is already dead, he just doesn't know it yet" the boy turned around and left the room with a wild look in his eye. Kaoru gasped suddenly as she remembered to breath. She hadn't understood what the words were about, but that voice would forever be burned on her soul. How could someone so young, hate so much? Enishi had scared her at one time, but she would take being stuck in a room with Enishi and one of his fits, than being within a mile of that boy when he had the look he had when he left.

Kaoru fell forward suddenly as the door was jerked open. She looked up to find Enishi towering over her, door held in one hand. She smiled nervously.

"Uhmmm, Hi?" 


	10. Ah I give up... Chapter X

Enishi stared at her and seemed to see right through her. She wanted to melt into a crack in the ground. Still smiling nervously she stuttered out an explanation

"I was uh, err, I only wanted to watch I mean see what you were doing and uh, I didn't mean… I didn't hear anything and I'm sorry…" Enishi quickly grabbed her hand and hauled her up. She leaned back unconsciously, as she was a little too close to him for comfort. She could feel the heat emanating from his body. He seemed to notice her discomfort as he stepped back. He stared at her for a minute, his expression just as unreadable as usual. He finally spoke

"If you're going to spy, at least don't be so obvious" he said simply. Kaoru had a feeling he didn't really know how to deal with the situation, as he closed the door between their rooms, leaving her rather confused.

Yahiko saw the boy leave Enishi's room, barely. He looked on curiously as the boy sneaked off into the shadows towards the back of the ship. Yahiko decided to follow. The last two days had been uneventful, and there was still a long trip ahead of them. He had avoided any trouble, but maybe this boy would give him something to do at least.

*** 

He walked towards the room where Heishin was, not paying as much attention to how stealthy he was. It didn't matter; the time for judgment had come. He grinned, and he would be the one to deal it.

He paused in front of the stairs to the hold beneath. Heishin would be inside. How should he go about this, he wondered briefly, before just opening the door and heading in. It seemed the most efficient way.

Heishin snored loudly, surrounded by his four bodyguards; he obviously had no problems dropping to sleep. A tremendous slamming of a door rudely awakened him. That door always slammed he thought to himself, annoyed. But who had entered. He sat up and looked to the entrance, where he saw a figure that looked much like a young boy. He squinted, hoping to make out the form better, but all he saw was a halo-like outline, caused by the darkness of the room, and the slight light from the outside illuminating the boy's apparently light colored hair. Heishin scowled, his face contorting to an ugly anger.

"Who are you, brat, and what are you doing here" he yelled at the boy. His bodyguards rose up besides him at the sound of his words… all of them except one. Heishin paid no mind, waiting for the impertinent visitors response. The boy stepped further into the light and Heishin's eyes widened as he started shaking in fear. His eyes, it was a demon. His eyes were two blue rings, filled with nothing… a void. And the whole pupils were apparent as the boy grinned widely, his voice almost quivering in glee;

"You can ask me that after I've killed you," he said soundly grasping his hand into a fist, revealing the bloodstained metal claws he wore upon them.

Yahiko heard what the boy had said clearly, but he didn't believe it. Why the little snot was likely even younger than he was. Yahiko waited behind a support, waiting for something to happen although he wasn't sure what. He didn't have to wait long as the huge bodyguards Heishin had with him sprung at the boy. Yahiko blinked. One of them hadn't moved this whole time. He decided to work his way slowly over to it out of curiosity and against his better judgment. Everyone else in the room seemed like they would be otherwise occupied for quite some time.

Heishin watched on in horror, as his guards seemed to be making no progress against the cursed little boy. The boy was dodging all their moves easily, and furthermore had yet to attack himself. He growled and backed further into a corner, hoping his eyes were deceiving him and the boy wasn't truly just toying with his prized killer bodyguards.

The boy stood still finally, and the bodyguards stopped suddenly, wondering what sort of trick would be coming their way. The boy smiled suddenly gleefully

"You're fighting styles are simple. I will make a quick work of you." He sprung at one of them as they backed away almost fearfully. He unleashed his metal claws easily tearing the trio to shreds in a manner of minutes, chunks of flesh and organs splattering against the wall and dripping down from the point of impact. Heishin stared on in surprise as blood fell across his face from the graphic scene. He could barely believe what he was seeing, not that he had much time to as he found himself impaled by a hand. He looked down, still in shock as he barfed up blood that had been forced into his lungs from the impact.

"Enishi told me to inform you that you're no longer needed." The boy said coldly as he yanked his hand up from Heishin's stomach to his neck, leaving a trail of wreckage behind and instantly killing Heishin with the destruction off his heart on the way.

The boy pulled away his hand, and the body slumped to the ground with an audible thud. He shook his hand off, as some organ pieces still clung to it. He sighed and was about to turn around to leave when he heard a voice.

"Oh wow, this is another doll just like Kaoru's… only it's got all this neat stuff inside!" The boy turned around abruptly, his eyes wide as he saw the kid that had come with Kaoru, his head inside the wire-ridden bodyguard doll. He hadn't even known the kid was here.

"How'd you get here" he asked simply. Yahiko brought his head out and looked at the kid.

"I followed you" he said just as simply, surveying the room with an interested look on his face. "Wow you did some damage." He stood up. The other boy said nothing, seemingly trying to figure Yahiko out. "Usually I'd freak out in a situation like this" Yahiko said, more to himself than anyone else "But after seeing Kaoru dead, and all the times Kenshin was practically bleeding to death, and hell, just everything that's happened lately…" he trailed off. He didn't know why he said it. Something about the bloodstained white haired kid made him want to talk.

"I assume you know that you're covered in blood and guts." Yahiko said, changing the subject. The boy raised one of his thin eyebrows over those pale blue eyes. Yahiko blushed, but he didn't quite know why. Probably embarrassment for the awkward situation.

"Yes…" the boy said simply. Yahiko noticed that the boys voice, although cold and in a way silent, was a little high. He must be pretty young, Yahiko thought to himself as he stared at the boy. He was about the same height as Yahiko, but defiantly didn't seem to be the same age.

"How'd you learn to fight like that" Yahiko asked.

"I didn't learn." The boy said looking away. "I did this because Enishi promised he'd teach me." He said. Yahiko's eyes widened.

"You mean to tell me that you beat all of them… without… you never…" he stumbled over the sentence, trailing off. The boy eyed him, still not knowing what to make of Yahiko.

"I'm fast." He said. "And it's a simple matter to kill people if you know the pattern of their fighting" he explained. "I dodge them long enough to get a hang of it and then just rush in." The boy shrugged "It's more a matter of surprise than anything else, I catch people off their guard. What I do wouldn't work on people like Enishi or Kenshin for that matter. If I keep it up someone will catch on." The boy wiped a piece of bloody flesh away from under his eye, only smearing it more. "But it doesn't matter anymore because Enishi will teach me how to fight."

Yahiko stared in amazement as he took in the words the younger boy had said. It all made sense, but Yahiko wouldn't have ever thought of doing something like that himself. He had learned to catch on to fighting styles, but he only did it so he could learn some of Kenshin's moves. He hadn't thought of using it against an opponent, but now he felt stupid for not seeing it before. He looked at the ground, his mind churning over the possibilities. Deep in thought he almost jumped as the boy spoke up.

"I can't kill you now, as Enishi said that I wasn't to bother with you" the boy stated. "You interest me though. I will kill you eventually." With that, the boy turned around and walked up the stairs leaving to the outer deck of the ship. Yahiko looked after him, confused, with even more thoughts rushing through his head. He sat down, not paying attention to the mess around him, hoping to sort out the various bits of inner turmoil. 


	11. Chapter XI

Kaoru sighed and sat up in Enishi's bed. It had been two weeks already, and she had fallen into another one of her routines. She would get up, go to the dojo and practice kata's until Enishi would join her and they'd spar. He was still infuriatingly better than her, and annoyingly condescending about it. He never bragged, he never told her she did badly, he'd just quietly calmly point out this or that, and they'd go at it again.

He'd often leave around noontime for a few hours to take care of some business and bring Kaoru some food. Occasionally he'd come right back and they'd eat together in silence. When she had asked him why he didn't have her go get the food herself, he said it was easier to keep her safe if no one knew or noticed she was there. She hadn't asked him to go out on the ship since. She sighed. It would be nice to get some fresh air, but as she felt it was often her fault that she had to be rescued by Kenshin a few times, she figured she should actually listen for once when someone told her to stay. It was her choice to come along anyhow.

Enishi arrived in his room that day without the usual tray of food. Kaoru looked at him puzzled. He quickly answered her question by throwing a bundle of clothes on the bed beside her.

"Put this on" he said simply. She looked at the clothes then back up at him, but he had turned to face the wall and obviously expected her to do something. She scowled at his back, never having had to dress with someone else in the room. She paused in the middle of standing up. He probably wouldn't say anything if she went into her room next-door and got dressed. She brushed the thought aside, it would be a rather rude thing to do considering how nice… well maybe more just considerate than nice, he had been to her. 

Besides, if he had wanted to peek at her he could have done it anytime before, or even could have forced himself on her. She remembered the incident where he had attempted to strangle her… maybe not. She sighed as she started to undress, putting her doubts aside, but watching Enishi's back the whole time. He didn't even twitch. She frowned as she thought of that random spot of insanity she had seen. It obviously wasn't a constant thing. She hadn't seen any emotion to speak of on him at all, in fact, since that day. He was hard to figure out.

She finished putting on the clothing he had given her, finally looking down at it and realizing it was a guy's clothes. She blinked, examining herself. Like everything else he had given her, it fit almost perfectly, yet instead of hugging to her body casually, it hid all of her curves completely, a dull brown color making her complexion seem rather waif like rather than just pale.

"Enishi?" Kaoru queried. He turned around to look at her, and she would be damned if she didn't almost catch a smile "What's this for?" she asked.

"Don't you want to go out on deck?" he returned. Kaoru smiled a genuine heartfelt smile. She hadn't even said anything about it but he had thought of it. He was so… her thoughts trailed off as she saw his face almost imperceptibly soften, although it was far from an actual display of emotion.

Before she could think about it, Enishi strode over to her in less than three steps, standing directly in front of her. She had to crane her neck up to see his face; she resisted the urge to step back. She realized he wasn't looking at her face, but her hair just as he reached his arms around her head and undid the ribbon keeping it up. He handed it to her. She blinked and held it, not quite sure what he was up to.

He grasped her hair firmly, yet not tightly as he quickly and neatly wrapped it about in a bun, placing a simple round cap on top. Her shorter strands in front and her bangs were left out as he stepped one step away from her. It was a large step, Kaoru noticed as he wasn't even near as close as before. Her heart dropped from her throat to the place it normally beat. She didn't know why it had jumped up there in the first place.

Enishi motioned with his hand for her to look in the mirror that was on his wall. She stepped past him and examined her appearance. She had been right; the clothes not only hid her curves, but fell in just the right places to make her look like a skinny youth. She laughed, with the hat concealing most of her hair, she looked like a fourteen-year-old boy.

"It's best to go out looking like that," Enishi said quietly behind her. "There are many desperate men on ships, and not many, women, if any at all" Kaoru nodded, still marveling at the way she looked. She had learned that if she said nothing, Enishi would often answer her questions without her having to ask him. He wasn't likely to say anything otherwise. She turned around to him, still smiling and politely bowed.

"Thank you" she said as she rose from her bow. Enishi simply nodded and turned to walk out the door, likely expecting her to follow.

Kaoru sat at the long wooden table in the mess hall. There were more people than she could count, and the laughter seemed to fill the whole room, along with the sound of mumbling conversation and excited narration. She sat next to Enishi, her eyes wide from all the coarse jokes she'd heard by the people about her. She sipped on her drink, not quite sure what it was, as she took a big bite out of a piece of bread. She guzzled more of what was in her mug, draining it to the bottom. It was automatically refilled. Enishi eyed her sideways as she started on the second mug. It was very warming, whatever it was.

When she had first entered, people had paid little attention to her until she sat down besides Enishi. People apparently were used to Enishi's reclusive behavior, although none of them seemed to know that he held an important position. Kaoru assumed that he preferred it that way so she said nothing. She swallowed a hiccup. Enishi looked at her again, frowning slightly. He should lighten up Kaoru thought, smiling to herself as she drunk more of the seemingly endless supply in her mug. She belched. Everyone cheered her on and the next five minutes turned into a contest on who could get the loudest burp.

Fifteen minutes and four mugs later, Kaoru was telling stories. Stories of Sano and Kenshin from what she considered to be a guy's point of view.

"An he was trying to help this other girl, a doctor lady, but his woomann would likely get mad." She slurred "but he couldn't tell her about the problem the doctor lady had cuz shee'd likely try and get involved" she hiccupped "Sozz we tod her she… We'd won her while gambling" she finished her tale and everyone laughed, more at the young boys drunken state then at the story.

Kaoru went on for half an hour more, her stories all fictional towards the end. The guys about the table would randomly interject and the story would often go a whole other way or take a new meaning. Enishi just sat there watching up until Kaoru fell off the bench. He caught her.

Standing up, Enishi slung her over his shoulder and made his excused much to the dismay of the occupants of the table. Kaoru hiccupped and sneezed at the same time as he turned around to leave, followed by a groan of pain, causing the whole table to break out in laughter once more.

The laughter faded away as they reached the deck outside. Kaoru squirmed on his shoulder, finally turning herself around so her face looked up at the sky

"Enishi?" she said. He didn't respond. "The ship is upside down, we're going to fall off!" she earned nothing but a grunt as he continued towards their rooms.

Kaoru lifted herself up somewhat on his shoulder and patted his hair ruffling through it.

"See, your hair's already starting to fall" she cooed happily as she sat up on his shoulder and pitched herself forward. "Wheeeeee!" she squealed happily as she started to fall, stopping with a hiccup as Enishi caught her in front of him. Likely figuring it would be easier to keep her from squirming this way. He twitched as she snuggled into his chest happily.

"Waaaaaarrrm" she almost seemed to purr out. If she could have seen his face at that moment, she likely would have laughed. He looked very strained. He cleared his throat and opened the door to his room. He stood in the middle, as if bothered by something, and then walked through the doors that connected their rooms.

Enishi took the cap off her head and placed her on her bed, freezing as she smiled brightly up at him. She sat up and leaned towards him, staring at his face, studying it intently. Finally she tilted her head to the side and touched the corner of his mouth with a finger.

"Your mouth turns up a bit at the corner, even when you're frowning" she stated as if it were the most interesting thing in the world "S'cute" she yawned. Enishi blinked at her. She seemed to be nodding off. Finally, she fell forward, forehead-to-forehead, nose-to-nose with Enishi, fast asleep. He sighed and pushed her down onto her bed and left the room. Utterly confused and surprised by this girl. If there was one completely unpredictable thing in the world it would be her. 


	12. Chapter XII

Kaoru woke up in her bed, once again with no idea how she got there. She groaned as she sat up, her head protesting the movement. From how she felt, Kaoru could easily guess why she couldn't remember. She'd gotten drunk. She winced, that was never a good thing. She was a horrible drunk.

She stood up and stumbled over to the basin of water and splashed her face. Enishi had been very considerate to take her out on deck, and how had she repaid him? She wasn't sure but it was likely something utterly embarrassing. She sighed. Hangover or no, she would practice today, just like the day before, and before that. This would be her punishment.

She walked over to the door between her and Enishi's room, and opened it without bothering to knock. As she had come to expect, he had already gotten up and left to do who knows what. She sighed and leaned down to pry open the trap door. It was rather heavy. Her eyes still squenched shut, she made her way down the stairs.

Standing in the middle of the dojo she pried one eye open. Something was missing. Something important. She had forgotten to bring a boken with her. She blinked and looked down at herself. She had also forgotten to change into her usual hakama and Gi. She cursed.

Yahiko stretched on his cot. After Heishin was eliminated, he saw no reason not to take his room. It would certainly be easier to avoid dangerous people that way. He glanced about the room. Almost every trace of the incident before was cleaned out of the room, leaving only a few bloodstains on the walls. He winced, remembering the messy process of cleaning. He had done it at night as to avoid any questions, throwing the carnage over the side of the boat. It had taken him a full week. Since then he had been at a loss as to what to do.

Dangerous people, Dangerous people, his mind kept on taking him back to the younger boy. There was something about that boy that really bothered Yahiko. He sighed, suddenly wondering how Kaoru was getting along with that maniacal creep Enishi. Enishi, who had taken everything away from him. Nothing was the same anymore. All he could do was wait till the pieces finished falling apart, then at least; he could start putting them back together without it crumbling in his hands.

Kaoru frowned at the tray. She hadn't seen Enishi come in… yet again. He had left it in plain sight towards the end of the dojo where the stairs resided. In fact, she hadn't seen him since last night. Her mouth twitched. Who would have thought that she could scare Enishi away? She chuckled, slowly breaking into outright laughter at the thought. Walking over to the tray, she sat down and dug into her food, still chuckling. She'd have to find him

Later that evening, Kaoru wiped the sweat off of her face and neck with one of the towels towed in the obscure closet in the corner of the dojo. She tossed the towel around her neck as she'd often seen Enishi do. Though he rarely broke out in a sweat when training with… or more appropriately, training her. She grumbled to herself as she plodded up the steep staircase to Enishi's room. She walked over to the basin of water in his room and splashed her face. She surveyed the room, it was still the same as ever, but… she had an idea.

Enishi walked into his room that night and stopped suddenly in the doorway as he found Kaoru dozing off in his bed. He was about to turn around and head back out the door when she sat up. He paused and looked back around. Kaoru noticed that he looked a little nervous, like there were questions he didn't want to be asked. She smiled. Enishi looked a little pale.

"You've been avoiding me today haven't you" she reproached. He gained his composure and Kaoru cursed inwardly. She must have asked the wrong question.

"No." He said simply. When she didn't say anything, seemingly expecting more he answered further "There were some problems I had to take care of." He finished simple. Kaoru looked disappointed. Enishi almost chuckled but caught himself. Kaoru had been prying too many little emotions out of him here and there already. He stared blankly at her with his usual deadpan look. After awhile she stood up, nodded and dejectedly walked over to her room. She paused in the doorway.

"We'll train together tomorrow?" she asked hopefully, Enishi simply nodded. As soon as she closed the door she leaned against it and cursed silently at herself. She had had the perfect opportunity to catch him of guard and she had lost it, only finding herself further away from gaining the upper hand. There was just no winning with him, in either sparring or anything else. She suspected he was lying about not avoiding her, but she had no proof, or no reason to suspect that he'd have a reason to.

Enishi looked at the door for a few minutes after it closed. He shouldn't have brought her out on the deck yesterday. She was only a puppet in furthering his goal. He didn't really care about the revenge anymore, but he was determined to finish what he had started. Yet still, he wondered what it was about her that prompted such responses from him. 


	13. Chapter XIII

Wei Li groaned as it took an effort to stand up anymore now. Shinta rushed over to help her up. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Sano was out shopping but should return anytime now.

"Are you feeling alright?" Shinta asked politely. Wei Li nodded. "You should take it easy, the baby is due in less than a month." Wei Li chuckled.

"But if I sat around for the rest of the time, who would get Sanosuke worried" she said good heartedly. "I don't think I could stand lazing about that long anyhow."

"Well you should" Sano announced, entering the house with a bundle of groceries under one arm. He placed them off to the side and walked over to Wei Li, hugging her to him tightly "I wouldn't want you to overdo it" he said, intending it to be sternly but it came out as more of a soft caress.

"Ah, Sano, Sano, Sano, when are you going to make an honest woman out of me" Wei Li said. Shinta chose that moment to quietly wander off to do some cleaning, as Sano gave Wei Li an incredulous look.

"As soon as I'm an honest man" Sano chuckled collapsing into a comfortable cushion, leaning back and sticking a fishbone in his teeth. Wei Li blinked at him, she still didn't know where he got those, because they were quite a ways from the nearest body of water.

"Besides," he continued, "I thought you already were an honest woman" he grinned at her. Wei Li glared at him for a moment then changed the subject abruptly.

"Have you thought of a name?" she asked. Sanosuke chewed on the fishbone, frowning slightly.

"I thought that was your job," he said, earning a glare from Wei Li. He held up his hands as if to fend off an attack "I'm kidding, I'm kidding." He grined "I thought of a name for a girl, but if it's a boy it's your pick."

"Well? What is it" Wei Li asked impatiently. Sano grinned at her.

"Mai" he said. The look of adoration she gave him made him smile wider, until she leaped on his lap. His eyes widened as her full, pregnant weight fell on him.

"Ooff" he winced, earning him a worried look and a volley of apologies from Wei Li.

Kaoru sighed. They had fallen back into the superficial routine of training in the dojo. While those first two weeks they had seemed to get closer, at least from Kaoru's point of view, now Enishi seemed more distant every passing day. It showed in training too, he had slowly become harder on her, and by the end of the day, if not earlier, she'd painfully make her way up the stairs and collapse in her room on the bed in a heap of sore muscles. A few times she hadn't made it to her room and she knew she had collapsed on Enishi's bed, yet every time she did, she would wake up in her own room.

She had to admit; she was improving a lot because of it though. Examining herself in the mirror she had become more fit than she had already been. She looked sideways at her reflection. She had never considered herself fat, or plump, but with the difference now, she almost wondered if she had been. She giggled and brushed the thought aside. She quickly tied her hair up with her favorite ribbon and threw on her usual combat clothes, heading to Enishi's room to go down to the wooden room below.

Before she reached the door, Enishi opening the door himself surprised her. He was usually gone by the time she got up. She blinked at him, waiting for him to say something as she paused mid step. Enishi noted her surprise and stepped aside waiting for her to pass by into his room. In that moment, she hesitated, feeling like a rabbit walking into a wolves cave, but after a moment she continued past him.

"I have some news to tell you," Enishi said "But it can wait until we finish today" he said nodding towards her attire. Kaoru groaned inwardly, the most she had practiced with Enishi at one time was three hours. He usually only showed up towards the end of an evening. This promised to be painful.

Kousetsu smiled out towards the open sea. He finally had a name. He had chosen it himself. It was Japanese, like Enishi-sama. He frowned. Enishi-sama was to busy with that worthless girl to train him yet. He glared over the horizon. Patience, he told himself, patience would get him anywhere, and this was no exception. The girl was only a tool anyhow; he had no cause to be jealous. Kousetsu turned around, a wild look in his eye and chuckled maniacally to himself. His pale hair tossed by the heavy sea winds.

Kaoru exhaled and fell backwards onto the ground. Enishi had beaten her soundly multiple times in a manner of minutes. She groaned, staring up at the ceiling. He had given her the illusion of improvement for over an hour, and then he had turned it about and shown her every single mistake she had made the whole time by defeating her easily in seconds with his bare hands.

The second bout after lunch she had to admit was much better. She corrected all of her mistakes from the previous few hours and even had Enishi backing up for a few minutes. He had beaten her easily once again, although not as badly as the last time. She suspected he had gone easier on her than before and nearly resented him for it.

She looked up at Enishi as he stood over her. He raised an eyebrow at her and then sat besides her, but about three feet away. He rested his arms on his knees, which were bent casually in front of him. Kaoru watched him as he stared at her, coldly, but not maliciously, undoubtedly expecting her to do something. She finally got it and sat up herself, folding her legs beneath herself and facing him.

He stood up and offered her his hand. She placed hers in his and he impersonally pulled her up, letting go of her hand afterwards. Kaoru unconsciously clutched her hand in a fist, trying to retain the feeling of warmth.

"I told you I had some news." He said, motioning towards the stairs afterwards as if expecting her to travel up them. She complied. Once they had reached the top, Enishi opened his chest and grabbed some clothes, tossing them towards her. She looked down at them. These were his; they weren't the seemingly perfect fitting ones he had always handed her before. She looked up at Enishi and he had turned around again. This time she didn't hesitate to get changed. She snickered when she finished putting them on. She was drowning in them. The long orange pants pooling at her feet even more than they just bunched up when Enishi wore them, and the shirt falling to mid thigh, nearly just above her knees. Enishi turned around and Kaoru could tell he was trying to hold back a smile.

"I didn't have time to acquire more appropriate clothes for you" he said with a humorous note to his voice. It was a vast change from his usual tone. He handed her his wraparound cloak, and after she fumbled with it for a few minutes, he took it back and wrapped it around her deftly, concealing her hair. Kaoru tried to shuffle forwards, only to trip over the bottom of Enishi's pants. Enishi steadied her with one arm on the shoulder.

"We should hurry, or it will be too dark to see" he said and gathered her up in his arms. Kaoru sighed at the feel of the silk on her legs and body, she could understand why Enishi wore the thin clothing now.

Enishi headed out the door and walked in quick strides to the railing, setting Kaoru down when they got there. Kaoru gasped as she saw the most amazing display of colors playing over the sky on the thin black line of the horizon. The sun had almost set and lighted the clouds with a vibrant red, fading to a light purple at points. Above the line of clouds the sky grew dark, a deep blue sprinkled by at least seven stars, the rest still concealed by the fading light. Beneath the clouds the sky was still a light blue, falling into the darker ocean, the lights reflection wavering on the water all the way back to the black line.

That line, Kaoru noticed, wasn't wavering. She squinted at it trying to make some sense of it. Her eyes widened as she realized why Enishi had brought her out here before the light had fell. That thin black line was land. They would soon be in China! She tuned around to look at Enishi, happiness gathering tears in her eyes. She hugged him, burring her face in his chest as she sobbed in happiness.

"Kenshin" she whispered into his chest. He stiffened more than he already had the moment she hugged him, if that was possible. He stared into the falling darkness for a few minutes, bearing her tears before he finally got fed up.

He lifted her up and slung her over her shoulder, turning around and heading towards the rooms once again. Kaoru sniffled loudly in an uncomely way.

"You know you're already the only person who's ever carried me like this," she said, her voice still bearing the mark of her tears although she tried to sound amused "Do you really have to do this every opportunity you get?" she asked. Enishi just grunted at her, opening the door and setting her inside, leaving her alone afterwards.

She slipped out of Enishi's pants and set them on his bed, the shirt was more than enough cover on it own, she thought, sliding off the cloth cloak and setting it besides the pants. Afterwards she headed into her room and sat on the bed, clutching her knees to her body, her mind running through any possible scenario of what Kenshin would say or do when they met again. She smiled sadly at how long they had been apart… even Kyoto, she'd only been away from him for a month at most.

"Kenshin," she whispered into the silence "Aitai desu, I want to see you, I just want to see you" she finished burying her face in the space between her arms, knees and body, sobbing into the empty room. 


	14. Chapter XIV

Shinta couldn't sleep that night. Something bad was going to happen he could feel it. He stood up and made his way through the house to the storage room. They had thought he hadn't noticed them putting his past away in a box. Of course, it was no longer his past anymore; he had thrown it away willingly. It was better to live for the people around you than dwell in the past.

In that box was the object he wanted. A sword, he had a feeling he'd need it if he wanted to protect his family. He smiled narrowing his eyes as he pulled it out of the hilt slightly; the feeling of it in his hands was familiar. Good, he thought, how could he protect anyone if he didn't know what he was doing? He frowned as he got a closer look at the sword. The blade was on the wrong side. He stared at it dumbfounded. What good would this do, he thought to himself. Anyone who attacked would just keep coming back if he didn't kill them. He placed it back in the sheath with a click and placed it into the box once more, closing the lid without further ado.

Tomorrow he would stop by the weapon smith and have a blade made, with the edge on the right side.

Kaoru walked out on the deck with Enishi as the bustle of the crew was deafening. They had arrived at the port, and Enishi had said she could come out now. She smiled up at the morning sky. It had been months since she had seen the light of day, and the sea air was refreshing.

The seagulls cried with an annoying ring, but Kaoru enjoyed it to an extent, because seagulls were usually near land. Even though she could see the port town herself now, it was so close, she needed every affirmation that she could get. She could barely believe that they had finally arrived at their destination. Granted there would likely be more travel over the land itself, but even the air felt closer, it seemed to whisper the name that was most on her mind these last few days since they had first spotted land.

Enishi led her down the plank, his hand on her back, mostly to show that she was under his protection more than anything else. Kaoru glanced around hoping to spot that spiky bit of hair that lay atop her former student. She found him walking behind them a few feet and sighed in relief. She had been hard on him, but she really couldn't have done anything else. He needed to know she didn't approve… and also, he needed to spread his wings. In the state she was in recently, she could hardly help herself, much less her student. She looked ahead, hoping to find the future before her.

Enishi helped her up into the carriage, opening the door for him. When he turned around, Yahiko was standing there. Enishi had known the boy was following off the ship, had even expected it of course. He turned away from Yahiko abruptly, opening the door for himself and stepping up on the footstep.

"I don't care what you do" He said simply "Just don't get in my way." He entered the carriage, closing the door behind him. Yahiko leapt up on top of the carriage, riding it as he had once seen Sanosuke do.

Kaoru stared past Enishi to the wall behind him. She had a ridiculous almost blissful expression on her face. Enishi looked at her in disgust, he knew exactly what she was thinking. Not as if it took any great thought to figure it out, it was written all over her face. He rested his chin on his hand and stared out the window at the passing scenery. It was going to be a long few days.

Shinta stopped in the middle of his chores to reach inside his clothing and finger his weapon. Something about it was comforting, and although he was hiding it from Sano and Wei Li, reluctant to make them worry, he couldn't help but keep his hand on it whenever possible.

It had only been in his possession for a few days now, but he already couldn't think of ever parting with it. This was something from his past that he was unwilling to let go, even though he had yet to discover the extent of his skill. He glanced over at Wei Li nervously as he withdrew his hand from the folds of his clothing. He sighed in relief and went back to cutting up vegetables for tonight's dinner.

Yahiko's mind drew a blank. He had been trying to conjure some idea of what would happen when Kenshin and Kaoru met once again, but it seemed to fail him. He shifted uncomfortably atop the carriage. This did not seem promising.

He could even recall that he had idea's running through his head as to what might happen, less than a few days prior. He frowned, the closer they got, the less likely he felt that everything would be all right. And by the way that Kaoru had been floating about, she obviously thought the opposite. He sighed, he really shouldn't be so apprehensive, and he was likely making all these misgivings up on shaky ground. He had no reason to believe that anything would go wrong. But still, that niggling doubt just wouldn't go away.

They stopped at a hotel on the third day into land, only an hour or so from the house Kenshin had been staying at. Kaoru almost wanted to go right then, but she knew it would be better to sleep. She was about to retreat to her room when Enishi stopped her.

"I've got business to attend to elsewhere" he said lightly "I'll be gone for the next month" he looked at her with his dead eyes, halfway concealed by his glasses. He hadn't worn them most of the time on the ship, Kaoru just noticed then. He pushed them up with his two middle fingers and looked off to the side

"I trust that will be enough time for you to finish whatever it is you need to do here?" he asked, or rather more likely stated, as if it was in no doubt. Kaoru nodded, he was right, that would be plenty of time. She wondered vaguely why he was leaving when they had just arrived… Something didn't compute, but she was positive he wouldn't leave if he didn't think everything wasn't under control.

As she climbed the stairs to her room, she puzzled over his behavior. She didn't like it one bit. She was sure that she would know the reasoning all too soon. Something must be wrong with Kenshin, she thought worriedly, but brushed the thought aside, Enishi had said that it wasn't the case, and she believed him. All matters aside, she thought, entering her room, she needed some sleep. She would go see Kenshin in the morning… she remembered passing by an appealing looking restaurant just a block down the street. Well, maybe in the afternoon then, she revised as she settled down comfortably in her bed. Sleep came to her quickly. 


	15. Chapter XV

Kaoru was still deep in the land of sleep when she felt a heavy weight settle on her. She yawned and tried to turn over to the side. It didn't work, she furrowed her eyebrows, eyes still closed, something wasn't right. She opened an eye, only to be greeted by a spiky haired face glaring over her like a vulture. She opened the other eye, both of them wide now, and squealed at the top of her lungs

"Yahiko get the hell off of me!" she yelled loud enough to wake the dead, even in the middle of the day like it was. Yahiko got off of her stomach where he's been kneeling in hopes of waking her, a petulant expression on his face.

"But Kaoru, it won't do any good if I go see Kenshin myself, you have to come too." He complained. "You do want to see him right?

"Of course I do" Kaoru snapped, she was a little mad at herself for sleeping in so late, and although she was glad Yahiko had woken her up, she didn't like the way he did it "Couldn't you have called out or something before entering my room?" she asked

"I did" he said blandly "You were dead to the world, believe me I tried everything"

"Oh" Kaoru replied, staring at the ground for a moment. She perked up after that "Well we should go find Kenshin then shouldn't we!" she exclaimed happily. Yahiko nodded. Kaoru glared at him then smacked him atop the head "Now leave so I can get dressed."

Yahiko left.

Half an hour later Kaoru walked down the stairs in the prettiest Kimono she could possibly fins and her hair done up in a matching patterned ribbon. Yahiko rolled his eyes at her.

"So how are we going to find him" Yahiko asked plainly

"Enishi left this map with directions" Kaoru answered, holding up a rolled up piece of paper. She grinned as she tucked it into her kimono sleeve. "Let's get some food on the way, Enishi left us with plenty of money." She giggled. Yahiko looked exasperated.

"Fine with me" he said in a way that clearly meant it really wasn't. Kaoru gave him a look. 

"You really should be more careful" Shinta said to Wei Li, pulling her out of the way of a person she had almost run into "You shouldn't even be out this close to the end of your pregnancy" he sad admonishing her, knowing she still wouldn't change her mind.

"I know I know," She replied "But I just have to get a few last things before the baby comes" she smiled at him, trying to convey that everything would be fine. Shinta would have none of it, but he complied with her wishes.

Kaoru paused; she would recognize that voice anywhere. She turned towards it, and there he was, it was Kenshin. She could feel tears gathering in her eyes as she looked at him, although his hair was cropped shorter, and he wasn't wearing his usual outfit, it was most defiantly Kenshin.

But he was talking, and he was laughing, and as she watched them walk down the marketplace, she heard an "oroororo" She stared dumbfounded. But after all, it had been a year since she "died" he was bound to get over it eventually.

Then why did she feel so hurt?

Yahiko stopped walking, realizing that Kaoru was no longer following. He looked at her, and then followed the path of her eyes to find Kenshin, walking alongside a heavily pregnant, pretty girl. He blanched. This did not bode well; he only hoped that Kaoru hadn't realized the implications yet. Then he looked at her face and knew that he was wrong.

Would she turn back now after all they had gone through to get here?

Kaoru felt her eyes tear up at the sight of the redheaded vagabond, but she convinced herself it was because she was so happy to see him, smiling. She refused to even think anything else, her mind going numb. She started walking towards him slowly, and then picked up her pace, finally almost running up to meet him, her wooden sandals clicking against the pebbled road.

Shinta laughed along with Wei Li, she was right it had been the silliest carving he'd ever seen. He chuckled good heartedly, not that he would have remembered if he had seen something funnier before, he had commented, drawing a while new wave of laughter from the two.

All in a second everything changed. He heard someone running at him and crying out a word he didn't understand. He put his hand to his sword and drew.

Yahiko watched on in apprehension, as Kenshin didn't turn around when she called his name repeatedly. Something was definitely wrong. His heard stopped when Kenshin suddenly halted in the middle of walking and reached for something in his shirt.

Kaoru was less than five feet away when he saw a glint of metal and everything slowed down for that moment. He watched on in horror as Kenshin struck out towards Kaoru with his sword

"Please let it be the sakabatou, please let it be the sakabatou" he repeated to himself internally, over and over again, as he was to far to prevent what happened. Even though he had no idea why he'd think it anything other than the sakabatou.

He saw Kaoru catch a glimpse of the metal herself and shy away from the blade hopefully just in time as in looked like she slid under it, falling backwards with her sudden stop. Then he saw a few strands of hair fall slowly after Kaoru, and in that moment, he knew that she hadn't avoided it completely. All he could do was hope that the hair was all that was cut.

For Kaoru time stopped that moment as well, all she saw were kenshin's eyes, and they scared her. His eyes staring at her, unseeing yet penetrating, a deep amber color that she had grown to abhor. Battousai.

She felt the tip of his blade slice against her left cheek with a light snick as she fell. Kenshin was gone, Kenshin was…

He had tried to kill her, that was her last thought as she fainted, collapsing from her position kneeling, to hit the ground.

Shinta didn't see her fall, or really even see her at all as a gasp and a movement out of the corner of his eye distracted him. He turned to Wei Li worriedly, still holding out his blade. She didn't look to well. He sheathed his blade and rushed to her side as she seemed to teeter unstably. He held her up and looked at her asking what had happened. She answered with a simple statement

"My water broke" she said leaning into his arms. He picked her up and ran off towards the doctors, all the while telling her that she should have known better. 

Yahiko approached Kaoru as a crowd had gathered around her. He kneeled besides her and lifted her head onto his lap, turning her head to face him. All he could see was blood smeared all across her face. He panicked, hunching over her and crying.

"Busu, you stupid stupid old lady." He whispered "You're to ugly to die" he sobbed.

Someone walked up to them, pausing to pick Kaoru up. Yahiko looked up to find that it was Enishi. He glared at Enishi realizing he must have been there the whole time.

"If you were here, why didn't you save her." Yahiko spat out bitterly. Enishi looked down at him with a cold expression that caused a shiver to rise unbidden from Yahiko.

"Don't overreact" Enishi said "She just fainted, and it's only a cut" He turned around and walked through the parting crowds. Yahiko stared after him, feeling like a complete idiot. 


	16. Chapter XVI

Enishi took Kaoru back to the hotel, cleaned her up and left before she had woken up. Yahiko greatly resented Enishi for just about everything at this point, but knew he really couldn't do anything about it. Everything about the man from his actions to his attitude to the very way he walked annoyed Yahiko to no end. He was relieved when he left, but didn't like not knowing when he'd return.

Kaoru didn't wake up until late that afternoon, and as soon as she sat up, she brought her hand to her face and winced as she touched the small but angry looking cut on her left cheek. She stood and groggily made her way to the mirror, feeling slightly disoriented. She peered into her reflection and gasped at what she saw. A thin line running from an inch under her eye, to just above the bottom of her ear stood out, stark red on her face. She fingered it, wincing at the sharp pain she felt. Someone had stitched it up with tiny precise little stitches. If she were lucky it wouldn't scar.

She looked down, sobered by the thought that she would forever have a reminder that Kenshin had tried to kill her. Perhaps this was how Kenshin felt about the scar on his face. A constant reminder of destroying the happiness of the one he loved, and the other side a reminder that he also destroyed her life. She looked down at her hands remembering how small they were compared to Kenshin's thin sword callused ones.

She leaned forward and sobbed into the wall beneath the mirror, feeling like the sensation of crying was quickly loosing it's meaning, as she had done it so often now.

Yahiko watched as Kaoru fell into a deep depression. She wandered about her room aimlessly, pausing to stare in mirror every once and a while, and often sitting down to brush her hair for hours. After a day or two of this she stopped wandering aimlessly and lay down in her bed all day. Yahiko hopped this change meant the end of it, but the next day things got worse.

Upon entering her room the next day Yahiko gasped in surprise. Everything in the room was a wreck, and the mirror was shattered. He looked around for Kaoru, worried that something had happened to her. When he found her he almost wished he hadn't. She had a wild look in her eye and a heavy looking object in the other. She threw it at him violently and he barely dodged it, only to find something else being thrown at him that grazed his arm. He winced and ran out of the room. She obviously didn't want company now.

Kaoru sat in her room after she had driven Yahiko out and sighed. She had tried to pull her hair over her scar but it kept falling away. That's when she'd broken the mirror. She looked down at her hand, which was covered in blood. Is this what Sano always had to go through? She thought to herself, ripping a piece of clothing up and wrapping it around her hand. The blood bled through, spreading slightly to a point then stopping.

Kaoru put a hand to her head. The headache just wouldn't go away. And neither would the scar. She frowned as someone slid food into the door and fearfully ran away. Must be one of the servant girls, she thought as she picked up the tray and leaned against the far wall. She stared blankly down at the food for a minute before picking up a pair of chopsticks and slowly picking at it.

She had to get herself together. The scar wasn't important, and her life didn't revolve around Kenshin. She hissed in pain as her injured hand brushed against the edge of a tray. Or at least it shouldn't have. He had told her himself that she shouldn't take people in so carelessly. She should have listened.

Yahiko watched her from a tree outside her room. He hated to resort to this but he was worried. He sighed in relief as she sat down and started eating the food he had told someone to bring up. Well at least she wasn't being self-destructive. He smiled painfully; maybe he should be spying on Kenshin instead. Why had Kenshin attacked her? He wondered. It didn't make much sense. If he weren't so sure it was Kenshin they saw, he would think that they'd approached someone else who just had the same appearance. But the way he'd talk and the way he'd moved had proven it beyond a doubt. Not to mention he still had that cross shaped scar.

Yahiko wished Enishi would come back and do something about Kaoru. He had a feeling Enishi might be the only person she'd listen to now for some reason. He glared into the room. She'd become quite cozy with Kenshin's enemy. Maybe Kenshin knew that and that's why he attacked. Yahiko shook his head. That would be just as out of character as this situation seemed.

Enishi wouldn't come anyhow, he knew. He was likely off doing something sinister. Kaoru was just a tool to him, Yahiko told himself.

"But if that was the case, why did he carry her back to the hotel and stitch her up instead of just waiting for me to realize she wasn't fatally wounded" Yahiko blushed at the reminder of his stupidity. He didn't know why he'd overreacted. Everything was just too much he supposed. He sighed and hopped down the tree, heading back into the hotel and up to his room. He peaked into Kaoru's room on the way only to get hit in the face by a tray.

Kaoru seemed to stop moping about after that day, taking up her boken and practicing in her room, She didn't seem to care that she was also wrecking the room further in the process. Yahiko tried to approach her again only to have something thrown his way. He sighed and finally got the point. He went downstairs and helped in the inn, hoping the time would fly by faster, and also feeling guilty at the trouble Kaoru was causing for them.

Enishi finally returned a month after they had arrived, exactly when he said he would. He knew that Yahiko suspected he had been around the whole time but the boy didn't say anything. He was wrong anyhow though, he did have things to take care of, he had just wanted to see what happened when Kenshin and Kaoru met up again. He hadn't expected such a violent response, and for a moment he did have the overwhelming urge to push her out of the way, but she avoided it on her own, and the cut was a small price to pay. Although it was a shame to mar that face, his mind droned sarcastically, knowing that was something he didn't want to admit he was thinking.

He walked upstairs and headed up to her room, raising his eyebrow as he saw the tattered state of the room. He walked in and grabbed her boken mid-swing. She looked up at him with fire in her eyes and said one word.

"Revenge" She said looking at him strait "Will you help me get it" Enishi said nothing and just looked down at he, so she continued "If he's thrown away everything he believed in before, he has no right to live. He's too dangerous" Enishi drew a line down the side of his face, mirroring where her scar was, indicating that he didn't believe that was the only reason she wanted revenge. She turned bright red, but didn't look away from him.

He grabbed her by the arm and headed down the stairs, throwing a bag full of money at the innkeeper for the damage. He stopped in front of Yahiko.

"The ship leaves in two weeks." He said handing some papers and a pouch of money to him "Be on it or not, it's no concern to me."

Kaoru glanced back at Yahiko as they went out the door, but she quickly looked away, not liking the expression she saw on his face. 


	17. Chapter XVII

Kaoru wasn't quite sure where he was taking her, but he defiantly seemed to know. He took her in a carriage and they rode strait for four days to the port. Kaoru thought they were going to get on a boat and sail back to Japan, but Enishi led them away parallel to the port until they got to the edge of town.

It had been a long walk and Enishi was gracious enough to stop by an excellent restaurant before they continued to wherever they were going. There wasn't much talking between them, but Kaoru had already learned earlier on, in the ship, not to expect any.

Enishi stopped by a stable intending to get a few horses but Kaoru objected saying she didn't know how to ride. Enishi shot her a sidelong glance and acquired one horse, pulling her up in front of him as he rode down along the coastline

They finally arrived at a secluded cove on the coastline towards the south. The weather was a bit warmer than it had been in the city three days to the north. Kaoru gaped in wonder at the cliffs that rose above the water and sloped down into a gentle beach at points. Hidden between the cliff walls, Kaoru barely glimpsed a flash of white. When they approached closer it revealed itself as a huge building of intricate design nestled between the gargantuan stone crevices.

It seemed to be some sort of personal resort. Kaoru blinked at the magnificence, but as they approached further it seemed empty. The surroundings were oddly quiet except for the crash of the waves breaking against the cliffs and the odd swish of the horse's hooves as it cantered on the sand. Enishi pulled the horse to a stop in front of the great building and dismounted, holding his hands up to assist Kaoru down as well.

Kaoru hopped down, disregarding his offer for help, but she almost stumbled over unsteady from all that riding and he ended up helping her anyhow. Enishi looked at her for a long moment as he had his arms around her waist and stared deep into her confused eyes. He suddenly let go and whirled around, grabbing his sword from its place strapped across the horse's back. He unwrapped the bulky cloth that was loosely draped around it and handed it to Kaoru; She almost buckled under the weight but held it steady after a moment.

"Show me how much you want this" He said seriously looking at the unwieldy hold on his blade. He looked over at the horse meaningfully.

"How far will you go for it." He asked. Kaoru's eyes widened as she followed his gaze to the horse, and then down at the sword. She glanced at him an indiscernible but almost terrified expression on her face. He knew she'd never killed anything before.

The minutes seemed to drag on, the silence only broken by the occasional impatient whiney of the horse. Kaoru squinted her eyes closed for a moment, then slowly opened them, looking once again at the blade of the sword. It gleamed almost wickedly in the fading sunlight. All the sudden Kaoru took a determined look in her eye and raised the sword unsteadily, meaning to bring it down on the unsuspecting creature.

The sword stopped with a thud. Kaoru had closed her eyes during the swing and was afraid to open them and look. She slowly opened one eye, grimacing, as the first thing she saw was blood. Both of them popped open as she realized the blood belonged to Enishi. His had had stopped the path of the sword.

"I had to be sure" he said simply "Because some things you may have to do to achieve your goals could kill you if you have a weak heart." He look his sword back from her and wiped his blood off the blade, wrapping it once more and slinging it over his back. He headed into the house with a shaken but relieved Kaoru in tow. What had she gotten herself into.

Enishi led her into the house. He wasn't quite sure why he had brought her here after she had called for revenge. No, that wasn't right. He wanted this… no he wanted her. When she had said those three little words his fate was sealed. And now there was no turning back for him.

But after what he was about to show her in the next few weeks, could she ever love him? He would take her into the very depths of hell, but would she stay with him? Or run further into hell past him, or help him out? He frowned at his thoughts. None of it was of any consequence. He would not give in to his emotions, and she would never know.

He led her into a large room just to the left of the dinning hall. Turning around he addressed her

"Some of what I do may not make sense" he spoke, afterwards striding towards a far wall and opening a panel that revealed a whole wall of weapons. "But the best I know how to do this is by giving you a shadow of what I had to go through" he said, his words growing quiet towards the last.

"But before any of that," he pulled a bow off the wall "I'm going to teach you how to survive it." He smiled grimly, handing her the bow, and a quiver. Turning to a small door on the other side of the room, he led her out to a great field behind it. Set up in the field was a row of targets going diagonally across the line of the house, each in the row three feet further than the last.

The first was about ten feet away, and there were twenty in all.

"Shoot it" he said pointing. She nodded and pulled out an arrow, seemingly expertly stringing her bow, but after she got the arrow into the string and started pulling back, it was apparent she had no clue what she was doing. The arrow was wobbling back and forth to the side, and when she drew back and released it flew no more than six inches, to the side. 

Enishi winced and strode up to her, pulling an arrow out of the bag and surrounding her arms in his. He put the arrow in her hand; holding her other hand in place on the bow, lower than she had originally had it. Kaoru shivered at the contact, but not out of fear. She wasn't willing to find out why though.

"If you hold the arrow in your fingers like this" he directed her "And pull it up to this, aligning it here" he went on, Kaoru just being guided along her eyes wide. He adjusted her body position, his hands leaving from around her arms to fall to her hips as he turned her to the side. He also turned her head and had her pull the arrow up next to her cheek, afterwards standing parallel to her and mocking the position one would have to show her.

Kaoru nodded and looked back at the target, taking his advice in mind as she pulled the bow taut and released. The arrow flew past the target, hitting in the ground seven feet beyond it, gaining her a lecture on how to aim. She just watched Enishi as he expertly explained, wondering how many different weapons he knew how to use and why he had chosen a combination Japanese blade with the Chinese hilt.

They went on till long after the sun fell, Enishi teaching her the imperatives of shooting and aiming in the dark after she'd caught on to everything else he taught her, adjustment for wind and weather, and how to do everything in a limited amount of time.

Her arms were exhausted by the end of the day. She sighed and trudged up the stairs after him as he directed her to the room she'd be staying in "for now" he had said. She collapsed on the bed, not even caring that she hadn't eaten, too tired to care.

The next day went much like the last, although about noon she noticed that they still hadn't eaten anything, nor had there been any mention of it. When she asked Enishi about it, she almost wished he hadn't. He pointed up one of the cliffs at the faint line of trees you could see at the top.

"Up there" he said. "You can eat what you catch" he finished. Kaoru's eyes had teared up in frustration and hunger, but she refused to let them fall as she trudged over to the cliff, strapping the bow onto her back.

She had been stopped at the foot of the cliff by Enishi, turning around, she thought he would tell her it had been another test. But he handed her a rope and strapped a belt around her waist with a small dagger and some other things.

"Come back in a week." He said "Any less time, I'll send you back up for twice as long, and longer and I'll come after you."

Kaoru nodded and stepped up onto the face of the cliff; glad she had enjoyed climbing things as a child. 


	18. Chapter XVIII

Kaoru sighed and relaxed in the huge hot spring bath that was built towards the back of the house. Enishi had allowed her the luxury after she returned from her "expedition" in the woods.

All she had really done when she got to the top was listen for the sound of water. Luckily there had been a waterfall on the far side of the cliff. She had followed the river upwards to find calmer water, and found a point where the river split in two. Some of it ran down to a small meadow in the forest, opening to a still pond. It had been beautiful.

The pond had been filled with wildlife, bamboo lining the edges and heron wading through the waters. The forest, on further observation, almost seemed planted though. None of it really fit with the rest, although it painted a pretty picture.

A short while after she had made herself comfortable, and eaten some of the plants that she hoped weren't toxic, she discovered that there were also animals that didn't fit in the forest. And apparently she was disturbing one's territory. She spent a good portion of the week running away from a tiger.

She had laughed afterwards though. In a sense it had reminded her of her former, captor, recent escort, and current master. Enishi had really reversed roles over the last year. She sighed. When she had asked Enishi about the forest, he mumbles something about one of the previous syndicate leaders being eccentric and wanting to leave a legacy.

As for Enishi… she wondered if he might be using her for his own revenge on Kenshin. It was a distinct possibility, but it didn't seem likely somehow. Enishi was vastly better than her at fighting and from the short fight between him and Kenshin, likely even better than Kenshin.

She had no clue how she was going to get her "Revenge" if she could even call it that. It had been the spur of the moment, and she had been angry. As of now she had calmed down greatly. It was likely the interlude in the forest. She still wanted his death, she told herself gripping her fist, her other hand rising to brush the scar. Hell, he had told her he would always protect her. He had acted like he cared about her and they had been close!! She had even considered spending the rest of her years with him, despite the fact he was almost twice her age.

But she hated hypocrites. And she had never before considered him going against what he professed for nearly a year of constant threats. She looked down at the ripples in the water around her. Maybe that had been the only thing she had liked about him before, his ideals… She didn't want it to be any other thing. She didn't want to admit that she really had loved him.

The Kenshin she had loved was gone, and there was no one left to protect her from herself.

Enishi lounged on a chair in the "recreational" room, as the former leader had called it, gnawing slightly on the end of his calligraphy brush. He had the same habit as a child, and it was obviously an enduring one. He only did it when there was something on his mind other than what he was doing…

Needless to say Kaoru was floating about there. Like she was likely floating about the hot spring bath upstairs. A portion of his mind wished to go up and join her. He blushed at his own thoughts. He had never bothered with the company of women, he never had the time nor desire. He coughed nervously into the empty room, going back to writing the message he needed to send.

An hour passed with him getting nowhere fast. He finally put his brush down with a clink and stood up. He walked down the meandering hallways towards the hot spring in the back. He kept telling himself that it was because she had been in there over two hours, but he knew well from his sister that women enjoyed spending long amounts of time in hot springs. He disregarded it, sticking to his excuse; afraid of any other reason he might be going there.

He arrived at the door to the spring and rapped politely on it. There was no response from inside. He knocked a little louder

"Kaoru?" he asked into the door. "You okay in there?" No response. He waited a few minutes before knocking again. Still no one answered.

His heart skipped a beat as he put his hand on the handle and afterwards it continued, speeding up a bit in the process. He was acting like a juvenile boy, just passing puberty. He had missed that part of his childhood, his mind countered.

He closed his eyes and swallowed. It's not like he hadn't seen her before. He had dressed her in the robe that first day. His thoughts went silent as if waiting for him to admit something. Ok he hadn't looked, he continued, as soon as he had gotten the top off to see a portion of the swell of her chest, he had panicked and looked away for the rest of the task, avoiding touching her as much as possible.

It had been an embarrassing moment for him, and he didn't like to think about it. Just as he disliked emotions. He froze as he realized he had already opened the door sometime during his mental debate. It's too late now. His breath caught.

She was asleep in the spring. He sighed, relieved. He didn't know what he'd have done otherwise. He shouldn't have gotten out of the chair in the first place. He walked over to the spring, walking into the water, his clothes still on. He didn't dare remove them, afraid of any consequences.

He leaned over and picked her up in his arms, walking out of the spring with his pants soaked up to mid thigh. He fumbled her into a bathrobe, not bothering to dry her off and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her soaking hair with ease. At least he could do something with ease, he thought carrying her up the stairs to her room

How did he always manage to get into these situations, he wondered, stepping up the last stair and walking down the corridor, finally walking into her room and placing her on her bed. And then the already bad enough situation got worse. She opened her eyes. 


	19. Chapter XIX

Enishi jumped back almost a clear foot away from the bed, looking at her warily, not knowing what to expect. Kaoru stared at him for minutes, seemingly not knowing what to say either. She opened her mouth to say something, changing her mind many times before finally deciding on something.

"So it was you all those times I wound up in my bed without remembering how I got there" she stated. Enishi seemed to relax, and then he nodded, going to exit the room, taking it as an opportunity to avoid the embarrassing situation. Kaoru watched him go, wondering if she should have said something different 

Kaoru lapsed into a deep silence after he'd left. Her mind wouldn't allow her peace, though, as it wandered back to memories best forgotten. The last words that she had heard Kenshin say.

"I won't allow this, even if Tomoe is smiling down on you…" at that time, her heart had skipped a beat, she had been willing to do anything for him, she had thought that he had chosen her over Tomoe. Then she recalled Enishi's words following that.

"The more you burn to protect her, the greater shock when she's gone" The lie echoed in her mind, reverberating in the silence of the room. He hadn't really cared.

She stood up and fled the room after Enishi, afraid to be alone any longer with her own thoughts.

"There are no grudges between us…." Her mind finished as she ran down the hall, determined to get in the last thought. She had barely remembered Enishi saying that.

The weeks passed quickly after that. There were few more embarrassing incidents, but Enishi always somehow managed to get away unscathed. He always seemed a little nervous around her whenever they were alone when he wasn't teaching her something. Kaoru brushed it of as just an illusion, not believing Enishi could ever be anything like nervous.

Kaoru was improving greatly in everything, she found that learning other weapons helped her better understand hers. In fact, when she trained against Enishi with a boken, she found that it wasn't so hard to keep up with him anymore; in fact she had even hit him a few times.

This past week Enishi had been teaching her to ride, telling her that she would need to know where they were going. Kaoru had been left curious when he also started teaching her how to shoot a bow while still on horseback.

Yesterday he had disappeared. She looked all over for him but couldn't even find a clue. She should have counted how many horses were stabled there. For a while she worried that he wouldn't come back, but then he'd returned that night with a few odd-looking packages and supplies for wherever they were going.

"We're leaving tomorrow." He said, unsaddling his horse. "Tonight I will go over some things that you need to know."

They had eaten dinner in silence. Kaoru was glad she had made enough for two even though he wasn't there. She needn't have worried; he never ate all the food she gave him. Afterwards he led her to the large room in the center of the house, filled with extravagant and comfortable furniture. He pulled out two of the packages, and handed the smaller one to her.

"You'll need more suitable clothing." He said in explanation as she unwrapped it. She gasped as she fingered the cloth. It was the same material and design as Enishi's usual clothing, except it was fit to her, and the colors were different. The lines were black, but instead of the orange Enishi had, it was a cherry blossom red. There was an undershirt as well, but thankfully it was looser than Enishi's. He had also included black fabric for the purpose of binding her breasts. She blushed.

"Thank you" she told him, still staring down at the clothing. She had loved the feel of the fabric when she had worn his, but she didn't think he'd noticed. It was a little unnerving.

He handed her the other package. It was long and looked suspiciously like his sword did when it was wrapped up. She took it from him, it was heavy, but a well-balanced weight. It wasn't hard to guess what it contained; yet she was still surprised when she unwrapped it.

The sword's sheath was beautiful. It was made of black oak with intricate designs made of mambo embedded on it. The picture was of a sakura branch in full bloom. Apparently as Enishi's symbol was the tiger, he had taken it upon him to have hers be cherry blossoms. She didn't mind though, as she had always loved going to the hanami festivals.

She ran her hand over the sheath, it was polished to an almost metal-like smoothness, yet not as cold. On the swords handle the design continued. It seemed to be more of a traditional katana than the sword Enishi carried. Kaoru preferred it that way anyhow. She drew the blade out of the sheath only to find a fine line of writing written on it in a foreign but graceful looking script. Kaoru looked up at Enishi in question.

"It's written in Arabic" he said, looking off to the side, refusing to meet her eyes. 

"Scattered thoughts, drifting 

Wondering after my soul 

He left me alone" 

He recited the words quietly in Japanese. Kaoru looked up at him in wonder. How did he do things that suited her so well? He got up and left the room, saying only that they would be leaving early in the morning. 

The next morning Kaoru got up refreshed. She took a quick bath… if you can call half an hour quick, and dressed in her new set of clothing. Not surprisingly enough it fit perfectly. She looked in the mirror and realized that her usual hairstyle wouldn't fit. 

She giggled as she put it up in two braided buns to the side of her head. Her mother had put her hair up like that when she was very young. She lowered her hands, her heart heavy, she hadn't thought of her mother in a long time. Her mother had left when she was six. Her father never told her where, she didn't know if her mother had actually left or just died. 

She sighed and sat on the bed, her hand falling on a sturdy but almost transparent piece of silk. It was also red. She picked it up, looking at it; she must have overlooked it in the bundle. She eyed the sword and realized what it was for, tying it around her waist and securing the sword at her side. 

When she went downstairs she found that Enishi had already saddled and packed the horses. Hers was a beautiful black Arabian horse. She hadn't noticed it before. Enishi's horse was much larger than hers, a destrier, he had called it. It was a speckled white with a black mane and tail. He looked at her and handed over a loaf of bread. 

"We haven't time to eat breakfast. We have to get over the mountains before the snow comes." He said in explanation. Kaoru nodded and slung herself onto the horse. Enishi mounted his horse easily, turning it around towards the faint path. 

"I haven't gone to this hellhole since…" Kaoru heard Enishi trailing of as he mumbled to himself. She still wondered where they were going. She asked, and he looked around at her. He said one word that didn't answer her question in the slightest. 

"North" he turned around and thrust his horse into a gallop, Kaoru followed. 


	20. Chapter XX- Into the hell

They rode north, as he had said, and bypassed the port cities going further inland. They reached the mountains Enishi had mentioned by nightfall and quietly camped in front of them, no words exchanged between. 

At dawn the forged over the mountains, the travel was hard, and the weather cold. Kaoru clasped her cloak about her, hoping to ward of the chills. She glanced over at Enishi who seemed to be having no problem and winced. She was still weak comparatively. 

It was days before they got over the mountain range, and Kaoru lost track of the time. She supposed it didn't really matter anyhow; she wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere although she was curious as to this "hellhole" Enishi spoke of, almost afraid to see it at the same time. 

Enishi looked forward the whole time, knowing Kaoru would follow him wherever they went was a comforting thought. But how long would it last? This was where he had grown up. He had lived there from the age of thirteen to nineteen, six years. A long time to have lost your humanity. 

It had, in it's way driven him insane. He had left there as a leader of the syndicate, saved by his predecessor, who he'd resented at the time. He babbled incessantly after his sister's smile, an image that had brought him though that hell, distorted once it was no longer useful. 

He'd finally gotten it straitened out, much to his relief. He knew his sister was dead and her smile didn't matter, but for years after he was out, he had been mentally unstable. He winced a how Kaoru had seen him that night he tried to strangle her. It definitely wasn't his intention. 

Kaoru looked about her in wonder, the land was starting to look harsher, despite the fact that they were clearing the mountain range. The land was speckled with a thin layer of snow and stubborn spurts of grass. Beyond a great plain reached across the land as far as she could see, a desperate and cold land. 

What was here? She wondered. It was only an empty wasteland. Enishi seemed to anticipate her question as he supplied the answer when they reached the bottom of the mountain and a little ways beyond. 

"It's a four day ride from here," he said "conserve your supplies, they'll be needed from now on." Kaoru nodded. 

They rode onwards even through the night. Enishi said it wasn't safe to camp, but she couldn't imagine what could possibly be out here. The second day out she nodded off on the horse. When she awoke she was on Enishi's horse in front of him. She looked up at him, wondering if he planned to stay awake the full four days. Enishi looked down at her. 

"Awake?" he asked. She nodded, he whistled and her horse trotted up from behind. "Tell me next time you get tired," he admonished her "You almost fell off your horse." Kaoru bit her lip as he lifted her onto her horse, nodding to him. Enishi resisted the urge to run his hand down her cheek and across that lip. He turned around abruptly riding ahead of her once more, and Kaoru was left to stare at his back. 

Kaoru was asleep in his arms again as they arrived at the entrance. It was a nice feeling, having her cuddled to his chest, her hair starting to fall out of the buns in strands. He wanted to leave her lying there peacefully, but they'd arrived. 

He shook her gently, hoping it would wake her up. Nothing happened. He shook her a little harder, it had no effect. He called her name, frowning, as it didn't work either. He'd never noticed her to be a heavy sleeper, but then again he'd never had to wake her up. He grinned as he got an idea and leaned over. 

Kaoru was slowly being dragged from her pleasant warm dream when she thought she heard someone calling her name. She shut her eyes tighter, not wanting to waken from her dream. She was dreaming that someone was holding her, close to their chest, and she didn't want to give it up to the biting cold she knew was out there. 

Then she felt someone's warm breath on her face, and realized it likely wasn't a part of the dream. She opened her eyes abruptly as she felt something brush her lips, and she found herself looking up at Enishi. 

"Interesting how such as small thing will wake a person up, when it's obvious they would sleep through an earthquake" He said looking down at her amused, his face still not far from hers. Kaoru blushed, realizing it must have been his voice she had heard, and his breath she had felt. She turned redder as she realized that cuddling to someone's chest was also not a dream. 

Luckily Enishi didn't seem to notice her embarrassment as he was looking forward at a man-made cave ahead of them that seemed to plunge into the earth beneath the gently sloping hills ahead. She must have been sleeping for a while because last time she had been awake the land had still been flat all about her. 

"Where here" he said, looking into the darkness ahead. He made no move to replace her on her horse as they rode forward into the cave. 

The cave turned out to be more of a tunnel, lined on the side by a string of torches that Enishi lit one by one as they went by. Kaoru wondered why he bothered when all they were doing was lighting the pathway behind him, but felt it wasn't important enough to inquire about. He finally started telling her about the place they were going, although it was more his history there. 

"I killed the people who took care of me and brought me here to china" he started out. Kaoru nodded, she had heard that part before. "Although I took off afterwards, I got caught, although not by the law." Kaoru looked at him curiously, wondering where the story would go next. 

"A man by the name of Man Lai Mao, had heard of me, and thought I would be an excellent addition to his 'games' as he called them" Enishi said bitterly. "I learned most of my fighting here out of necessity, but I didn't have the one I used against Kenshin until after I got out of this hell pit." He said, growing silent for a few minutes as they continued through the tunnel. "I was here for six years" he rasped, more to himself than to her. 

At that moment the cave opened out to light, revealing a vast stone fortress ahead of them. The design was unlike anything she'd ever seen, made of round tube like spires, and as they dismounted their horses, someone came out and led them to a stable on the side. 

When they entered the inside, the ceilings were high arches that seemed to reach up to the heavens. Kaoru stuck close to Enishi, Feeling dwarfed in the building. Enishi kept a hand on her shoulder and walked behind her as they climbed up the stairs. They entered a smaller room at the top of seemingly endless stairs, and there was a small man in the room with long black hair and feral green eyes. 

"Fang Quyen" Enishi said nodding at the man 

"Is this the one?" the man replied after nodding to Enishi. Enishi smiled in response. Fang Quyen looked at Kaoru for a moment and smiled himself. Kaoru shivered, something wasn't right about this man "I owe you a favor, for killing my father for me so I suppose it's ok. I can't guarantee anything though" 

"It's not decided for sure" Enishi responded, Fang nodded. 

"Well then I'll show you around," he said folding one arm behind his back and gesturing ahead of him with the other. Enishi made no move to walk ahead of him and Fang laughed, leading the way. 

He led them out on a balcony, and Kaoru gasped as she peered down. They were overlooking a great pit in the earth that looked to be lined with stone. The sides of the pit were surrounded by cliffs that sloped inward, making them impossible to climb, other than the fact they were also carved of smooth stone. The castle rested on one of these cliffs and overlooked the pit. 

Inside there were all sorts of people scurrying about, some just lounging, but most were fighting and squabbling over something or another. Kaoru couldn't tell from this distance but some even seemed to be eating other people. Bile rose to her throat but she forced it down. 

"You see" fang began "This is what my father built. It took hundreds of people and almost ten years to do it, but my father was young then." He grinned over at Kaoru, she looked at him warily, and he seemed to grin wider "although the workers didn't know it, they were building their own grave. He threw them in there after they had completed it and left them to starve. He wished to see what they would do and although there was nothing for days on end, finally they started fighting. 

He was extremely amused when they finally killed one and fought over the flesh of their fallen comrade, adding more to the bodies. After a while though, they seemed to calm down and regulate who would die when and he grew bored. 

He started searching out strong people, and people who had lost portions of their sanity. Eventually it turned into this" He spread his arms out, motioning to the crowd below. 

"The pit is over three miles wide and now there are around five thousand seven hundred and three people in there. No longer are unfortunates and crazies sent in there, we have enough of those as it is, I get my supply directly from the police" Fang grinned; he seemed to do that a lot. He laughed afterwards before he continued. 

"This isn't the only place to watch" he said, "There are many tunnels that go behind the rock surface and overlook from the cliffs. You can watch from there if you wish before you make your decision." He said, looking at Kaoru curiously. 

"Decision?" she asked, looking over at Enishi. Enishi clenched his jaw as he looked over the pit. 

"The former syndicate leader brought me out of here" Enishi said "Before that I thought I was doomed to die when my strength wore out and I was too old or injured to fight." He looked over at Kaoru "Will you willingly put yourself in there?" He asked, something in his eyes that Kaoru didn't understand. This wasn't a simple question of training. Her answer would hold a higher meaning. 

From his face she knew that he wouldn't condemn her for answering no. Even expected her to. She looked at him in silence, measuring his expression further, but not knowing what to look for. Fang cleared his throat, interrupting them 

"You will only be in there for six months" Fang said. "Afterwards… why, we'll take you out, and you can go on to your cozy revenge scheme" he said with a lopsided grin. Kaoru ignored him, still entranced by Enishi's face, which as the minutes passed seemed to loose hope, although what that hope was for she didn't know. Kaoru decided to take the risk. 

"I'll go" she said seriously, never flinching in her gaze. Enishi was the first to look away. If his expression showed anything Kaoru couldn't tell as when he turned around to face her again, his face showed nothing. 

"You will have an advantage over everyone else" he spoke to her. "Your sword, and what supplies you still have. Don't let anyone take that from you" Kaoru nodded, looking over her shoulder at him as Fang led her away. 

"Sleep well tonight Princess" Fang said with a chuckle "For tomorrow you'll be in hell" 


	21. Chapter XXI

Sure enough when Kaoru woke up she wasn't in the room they'd given her. She was in a cold dank cave with a letter to her side. She picked it up and opened it, finding Enishi's handwriting inside

There is a door in front of you to the pit. Do not enter unprepared. If anything goes too wrong, I will come for you, but don't rely on it as it might take me some time, should something happen.

Kaoru stared at it for quite some time. Underneath it was a beautiful ink sketch of a Tiger sleeping underneath a Sakura tree. She could hardly believe it had come from Enishi's hand, and she bundled it up in her small pack, hoping it would help her through the next six months, as she had nothing else.

She squinted her eyes and pulled the door open, taking a deep breath as she stepped out…and her feet met air. She fell three feet down, landing on the ground with a thud. She hissed in pain as she stood up, her butt would likely be sore for a few days. It was her fault though, she admonished herself, for not looking before she stepped.

She looked up to see leering faces looking down at her. They were scrubby and thin, although none of them lacked muscle. One would have to have strengths to survive in a place like this. Kaoru was grateful she had a weapon to make up for strength though.

She likely looked like a tasty morsel to them in more than one way, her hair was brushed and clean, and her skin white, free of soot. She had a warm cloak and what looked like a pack of supplies. More importantly she was a girl. She doubted many were sent here, or of any that did, few likely survived long. She shivered as some of the lustful sickening looks that were sent her way.

She started defending herself from the mobs, but when they seemed to keep coming at her she drew her sword, slicing cleanly through one in front of her while hitting one behind her with the scabbard. Blood sprayed across her face and clothes, standing out against her pale skin as it dripped down her cheek and to her chin.

Kaoru watched as the body fell in two pieces with a thud. It was entirely too easy to kill, she thought to herself. She felt an odd sensation of numbness and a lack of remorse as she stared down at the first person she killed.

He was likely in his forties, or at least life had worn him down to look that way, his hair was gray and scraggly long, coated in his own blood, and his "bowels" spilled out across the already bloodstained gray stone, signifying this was one of many meaningless deaths.

She finally remembered where she was when someone grasped her arm with his. She instinctively whirled about and chopped it off, the man fell to the ground crying out in pain as others overtook him, already starting to take advantage of the weakness.

Kaoru pried the dead, but still war arm off of hers and threw it into the crowd. People had already started backing off, either preoccupied with the corpses or afraid to meet the same fate. Kaoru wandered over to a slope in the pit and sat down, waiting for the time to pass by. She was sure that she'd get enough exercise. A voice sounded behind her

"New here I suppose?" She looked around to see a small boy sitting besides her. She almost jumped up, startled. She hadn't even heard him come.

Enishi looked down as she fell ungracefully to the ground. He winced, figuring that she'd likely had her eyes closed when she stepped out.

"Think she'll make it?" Fang asked imperviously. Enishi glanced over at him, than back at Kaoru.

"She will" He said bluntly in his usual deadpan style. Fang chuckled.

"You can still say yes to my proposal you know." He said grinning at Enishi "I havn't given up on you just quite yet." Enishi tightened his jaw.

"No" he said a little more firmly than he'd meant to. Fang leaned back into a chair, gazing down at Kaoru as fresh blood sprayed generously up from a body she'd embedded her sword in.

"I want her" he said simply. Enishi looked over at Fang in alarm "When you're done with her will you give her to me?" he asked querulously. Enishi had a faintly murderous possessive look in his eye, causing another laugh to bubble up from Fang. "Ah, my dear friend… that's why I love you" he said putting his arm around Enishi's shoulders. Enishi flinched away.

"Giving her to you would be worse than anything I could do" He said, his tone fading to the usual emotionless one. Fang frowned. Last time he'd seen Enishi, the man had been easier to control with his shaky grasp on sanity. This new development wasn't promising at all.

"You can't escape me forever, Enishi. You were mine since I first laid eyes on you when you came here" Fang spoke coldly, his tone quiet and calm. Enishi looked at him unaffected.

"You were five years old." Enishi said standing. "And you're as much of a brat now, as you were then." Fang snarled and stood, storming off in a huff. Enishi leaned over the railing and looked down at Kaoru. He whispered her name but only the wind heard him, carrying the word off into the silence of the air.

"Who are you boy." Kaoru asked the scrubby smiling urchin. The boy looked down at himself, putting his hands to his chest as if to see if he was still there.

"Yup" he said to himself, and then looked up at her "I'm me," he grinned. Kaoru looked at him exasperated.

"I wasn't saying anything different" she said to him, hoping he'd say something else. He shook his head as if knowing what she expected.

"Don't like my name, threw it away, now I'm just me a just myself" the boy chattered on. Kaoru got the impression that the boy was a bit off mentally. Something must have happened to him. She lifted the boy up and hugged his little body to her. He hugged her back, burying his face in her chest.

"Oneesan" he cried out silently. Kaoru froze, thinking of Enishi crying out the same thing. Then her body relaxed as she hugged the boy tighter, a tear slipping down her face, making a trail through the blood that had dried on her face.

Enishi watched for the next week as Kaoru took care of the boy she'd adopted. The boy would often disappear into the shadows and reappear chewing on a piece of meat or a bone. Kaoru never seemed to ask where the boy got it. Enishi frowned, feeling Fang approach from behind him.

"She's going to be sorely disappointed when the boy dies." Fang said coldly. He was still annoyed at Enishi apparently. Enishi looked over at Fang sideways.

"Kaoru will likely protect him from being killed." He replied. Fang gave Enishi an odd expression.

"People avoid the sick ones," he said simply "That is, until they're dead." Fang grinned, regaining his usual composure. "That boy is the reason they've left Kaoru alone till now." Enishi looked ahead silently. Fang rarely lied. He wondered how Kaoru would deal with it. Fang grinned out towards the pit.

"I wonder how long it will take her to realize the blood on the boy is often his own. At least the kid seems to avoid her finding out" Fang chuckled. Enishi said nothing.

Sure enough the boy was avoiding Kaoru whenever he had coughing fits. She reminded him of his sister, and he didn't want her to run away like everyone else had, afraid of catching the same thing from him. He huddled into himself in the darkness and pressed his wobbly knees to his chest, coughing up blood in great heaves. If he wasn't already huddled, he likely would have doubled over from the pain.

The world went blurry and faded to black, as he fell, the last thing he heard was a whoop of excitement from the ravenous residents of the pit.

"Oneesan" He whispered as his body went numb, his muscles spasming for a few minutes before finally twitching at last to a stop.

Kaoru watched blankly as the crowd swarmed once again. It seemed to do this every time someone died. She sighed, resting and arm on one bent knee while the other leg lay stretched out before her. She chewed on a splinter of half charred wood as she stared out into the crowd. Her eyes went wide as she heard an ever so small raspy voice from the center of the crowd.

"Oneesan" it cried wearily, and Kaoru's heart pounded furiously in her chest as she stood up and ran through the crowd, pushing people violently out of her way. Sure enough in the middle she found the boy, his skin ripped raw and red in portions where some of the crowd had gotten to him.

She crouched down brushing her hand across his face. He smiled and she started, he was still alive?! He breathed out brokenly and she had to lean closer to hear his voice.

"Oneesan…" the boy started "Take me with you where you're going" Kaoru nodded to him, her tears falling to his small little face, knowing he couldn't see her, and likely didn't know she was there. He was likely seeing his sister behind those sightless eyes.

Kaoru hugged the body to her as it at last fell limp. She stood, slinging the boy over a shoulder as she snarled at the crowd. She drew her sword and it glinted in the dim sunlight. Tears streamed down her face as she hacked at the many nameless people. It rained blood as she cried out in remorse

"Why here!!" She brokenly yelled, "Why did he have to die here!!" She stopped her furious movements and stood still, her cherry blossom outfit now stained red. She stared at the ground, blood running down her face and chin down to her throat. The metallic taste of blood was on her tongue and lips. 

"In this hell," she whispered to herself "There is no mercy" she hissed gripping her sword. "You have met your match, hell" she bit out bitterly, the blood falling in on the line between her lips. "For I am your queen and you shall taste death" her voice shook with anger as she spoke.

Enishi watched the snowfall down on the bloody scene below, melting as it hit the ground. He watched Kaoru sadly as she gathered wood ant set a pyre on which to burn the boy. He was thinking maybe he should not have asked her to do this. He looked away. No, he thought to himself. He had needed to know if she would.

Fang grinned from the silence of the shadows, watching both of his positions. He wanted the bloodstained emotional girl, and he wanted Enishi. He would just have to figure out how to get them both.

He turned around and stalked off into the castle. The next months would be interesting, if Kaoru ventured into the other areas of the pit. She had entered on the side of weaklings, cripples and sick folk, the weak sheep of the pit. If she traveled east, she would find that the rest of the pit was not quite the mindless crowd this was. He wondered, if before the six months were up, she would meet the lord of the pit.

Fang chuckled to himself with the thought. Enishi may seem cold and emotionless now, but from watching him, he knew that if he could somehow secure the girl, he would once more be able to manipulate Enishi as he once had before the older man had slipped out of his grasp. He wouldn't let it happen again. 


	22. Chapter XXII-Things to come...

Kaoru was tired. Her hair had mostly fallen out of her buns and it fell about her cheeks, some of it plastered to her face with blood. Her sword she held limply to the side as she stood. She went back to that small slope and slept, hoping there were enough dead people that no one would bother her.

She often woke up suddenly throughout the night, imagining footsteps where there were none, ravenous cries filling the air. She clasped a necklace that she hadn't worn long. It had belonged to the boy.

The dawn came and she was far from refreshed, but she had to go on. She was as of yet afraid of what she would find in the center of the pit, so she traveled around the edge, discovering many strange things on her way.

Some of the people living there had banded together to form sort of a tribe. It wasn't at all surprising that the tribe was a cannibalistic one, but they freely talked to her and didn't threaten her at all.

They told her that they'd go on hunting parties to the center, where people had more power. They hoped to gain the same power by eating the heart. It was a strange tradition, Kaoru thought to herself, but not all that unlikely. She had avoided eating people so far but her food was running low.

They invited her to stay, and held a big bonfire and feast, dancing about it like madmen. They gave her cooked meat, she of course, didn't ask what it was as she ate it. Not wanting to know, and too tired to care. She left them the next morning, when they asked her to be their queen… if she slept with them. Well it had been less blunt, but the rituals involved orgies and other things that Kaoru couldn't help but stare in horror as they described it her. She had no knowledge of such things up till then.

She spent the rest of the day passing people by. They often stared at her as she went, but made no effort to go after her. She wondered if they thought she was a dream. She still looked a lot better health-wise than anyone else, but it had only been two weeks. There were five and a half more to go. 

Enishi watched as usual, his hands folded over the railing. The usual frown was plastered on his face, but for the first time his mind had wandered away from Kaoru. Memories often come and go, but he was remembering things he hadn't thought of in years. The time before the war.

He had been very young then, about six or seven, when his sister got engaged. He didn't remember much about it and his memories were hazy at best. His sister always told him he judged people too harshly, and at first he disliked Tomoe's fiancé. It hadn't been until Akira left for the war that Enishi finally accepted him.

Even further back, was his mother. He never met her, as like he had so many other people, he caused her death. He'd never blamed himself for it because of Tomoe. She refused to let him, and her gentle mothering ways allowed him to be the brat he had been at that time.

Enishi smiled faintly as he once again remembered his sisters smiling face. It was an image he hadn't seen since he himself was in the pit. Being here brought unexpected things back to him. But now he had a new image. Kaoru, yet it wasn't her smiling face he saw, there were many. He looked down at the small figure walking around the perimeter of the pit.

He saw, first, her determination, remembering those words she had said to him so long ago.

"I know I will not win, but I cannot give in so easily because of that" It had been that moment perhaps, that Enishi first fell in love with her.

Enishi rested his chin on his hand. That had been the first words to awaken him, but at that time it hadn't been enough to drag him out of his insanity. It had been when she had brought him food, and he remembered his sister doing the same. His sister had been smiling then and he remembered everything his insanity had lost.

Kaoru… Kaoru was special. Everything from her angry determination, to her sleeping face, to the pained look when Kenshin had cut her, it was all-beautiful. He wished at this very moment he could see her now, tired, worn and covered in blood. She would likely look just as pretty. Because despite the face that her physical appearance was well done, it was her spirit and heart that animated her. Enishi had seen many cold and beautiful people, who were terrible and vicious though they pretended otherwise.

Fang watched Enishi, enjoying the subtle play of emotion displayed across his face. Enishi really was amazing. Even when he was alone he hid his emotions there. But fang was a master of emotions, he learned all of the subtle or exaggerated facial expressions people had from a young age. He loved them all, fear, pain anguish, bliss, happiness, disappointment. He loved to take each emotion out of people and file it away in his memory.

Ever since he was a child he had done this. His father had asked him what he wanted every year and he had usually asked for people as "toys". He'd never been denied one until Enishi came.

Ragged and beaten, Enishi had been covered in blood, hardly any of it his own. It was the look in Enishi's eyes that drew Fang; that wild desperation and will to love on, mixed with a hint of anger and a lot of loss. He'd never seen such a thing, and he'd instantly fallen for Enishi. He'd wanted him as a toy, but his father had refused

"This one will do good in the pits" he'd said, looking at the struggling boy who was tied and bound. Enishi had looked up at his father with such hatred and resentment that fang knew that he had to have him.

Sure enough his chance came. Fang had just turned twelve when the man from the syndicate came to take Enishi away. Fang had been frightened that Enishi would be gone for good, but Enishi came back only three years later and killed his father. After that Fang did have Enishi for a while. He'd manipulated the twenty-two year old to leave the pit to him instead of destroying him. Just when he almost had Enishi in his grasp he'd worded something wrong and all was lost to him. He refused to lose it again.

Kaoru sat on the abandoned stack of wood she'd found. She was surprised that no one had burned it yet. She sighed and took out the note Enishi had given her, running her fingers over the sleeping tiger, pulling her hand away when she realized there was still fresh blood on them. The blood had left a mark on the tiger, but rather than ruining the picture it seemed almost fitting.

Kaoru curled over her knees wishing tears would come, but even they had left her, and now she was completely alone.

As she sat there, staring off over her bloodstained arm, the snow fell gently from the sky, drifting aimlessly down; as if it were the tears she'd lost. She looked up towards the sky, wishing she could see the stars, and wondering if Enishi had once had the same thoughts, all those winters ago when The snow had been melted by the newly shed blood of his sister.

She dozed of into a fitful dreamless sleep.

Yahiko sighed, holding the cheerful baby girl on his knee. It had been almost four months since Enishi had taken Kaoru away, but somehow he doubted that it was the last he would see of her. Shortly after they had left, he showed up on Kenshin's door, only to find that it was actually Sanosuke's.

Yahiko had related everything that had happened to Sano, and Sano had been amazed. He didn't know that Kenshin had gotten a sword with a blade, likely would have been against it if Kenshin had approached him about it, which was likely why he hadn't told them.

Yahiko had been equally surprised to find that the girl had been carrying Sano's kid, and that Kenshin had forgotten everything and was now called Shinta. Kenshin hadn't changed at all in attitude, except he didn't daze of into the past as he used to. Yahiko almost thought it was a better change, were it not for the look Shinta gave them every time they tried to reason with him about the sword, he got a downright frightening look in his eye and refused.

"I must protect my family, and if you try to take this away from me, Sano, you are a threat" he said coldly. "I know you won't do this to me." He finished, dropping the usual de gozaru polite affixations he usually ended with. 

Sano and Yahiko had decided that it was better if they left it be, in the end. It was obvious Shinta easily transferred over to Battousai when angry now, with no reason holding him back anymore, but their life in China was a peaceful one, and there were no threats so it wouldn't be a problem.

Sano worried about Enishi showing up, since with Yahikos arrival came the knowledge that Enishi knew where they were, but after there was no news for almost half a year, he started settling down. Yahiko thought it was careless of him, but he'd determined that if he were around to be careful for Sano, it would make up for it.

He worried about Kaoru, and what Enishi would do to her. He wished he could talk to her and clear up the misunderstanding. Kenshin hadn't meant to almost kill her, all that he'd done was instinct and paranoia, If Wei Li hadn't fallen then he would have stopped mid swing, Yahiko reasoned, even though he knew that Wei Li hadn't fallen until after Shinta hit Kaoru.

Yahiko eyed the kid that he often had to baby-sit now. At first he'd wondered how Sano could have a kid, but come three months after it was born, It was made apparent how it happened. Shinta assured him that it was normal. Yahiko also learned to avoid parts of the house where energetic sounds came from, but much to his misfortune, his room was right next to theirs and he had to put up with it at night. He often left and slept in the kitchen or outside.

He missed the dojo, and the weather of china was very different than Japan.

Saitoh sat in his office, a cigarette dangling from his mouth as he looked over the information Chou had gathered for him. The Battousai was in China, as was the Raccoon girl. Their departure had not been together, and Kaoru had even traveled with Enishi, by choice. That Kenshin had taken so long to find was rather odd in itself, because he was dragged off in an almost comatose state by Sanosuke. The rooster head had more contacts that Saitoh had originally thought. In usual circumstances he would leave them be, but this stank of unpleasant things to come. It was time for the wolf to hunt once more. Tokio would be upset. He hated to upset her; he'd just take it out of Battousai's hide. It was time they finished their fight anyhow. 


	23. Chapter XXIII

Kaoru grew annoyed with wandering around the perimeter of the pit. It was mild and easy, and she could very well survive the next three months doing it, but something told her it was time to do something more. She would never forgive herself if she didn't venture in. Something drew her like a moth to an open flame.

She veered off her course and headed deeper into the pit. Not far inward, she found a small crowd surrounding something that seemed like a beaten body, crying out as they beat it more. Kaoru rushed in, her eyes going wild, remembering the boy who had been almost torn apart the same way.

She slashed across one side, catching the group off guard, cutting cleanly through one and seriously injuring two others. They'd bleed to death shortly. The crowd backed away from the body and rushed at her, she briefly saw the body prop itself up on its elbows as it watched her in astonishment. Then she was overtaken by the twelve others.

They wielded sharpened weapons made of bone, but her sword easily blocked and cut them away with quick precise slashes. Her movements were all real close to her body, everything moving like perfectly counterbalanced weights. If she crouched down, she easily flowed up afterwards, timing everything exactly.

When all was finished nameless bodies once again surrounded her. They had faces, but she didn't care, looking down at them empty, wondering if it was wrong of her to feel no remorse. She looked up again, remembering the man who had been attacked.

He couldn't have been much older than Enishi; His hair was cut just below his ears, unevenly as if a dull blade had sawn it off. His eyes were a light gray and his face was unblemished, a rare thing around here. Kaoru tilted her head to the side as she measured him up.

"Why haven't I heard of you?" The man asked, staring in wonder. Kaoru met his eyes with her own.

"Why would you, the pit is a big place." The man looked at her curiously.

"You've been here for more than a month I can tell, so why don't you know?" he said more to himself than her "This place is run by a brutal but well organized group. Nothing of any interest happens without Mao Ming knowing about it. He's in the center by the lake." Kaoru raised her eyebrows at that.

"There's a lake?" she asked. The man laughed

"Sort of. It's about twenty feet across and eleven feet deep in the middle, but it's water, and that's power here. Water may not be thicker than blood but you can live off of it." He said placing his arms behind his head. "Hey, you want to come with me to Mao?" the man asked.

"I don't even know you." Kaoru said "And don't mistake me, my intention wasn't to save you." She finished, starting to walk away.

"But it's dangerous that way!" he said, panicking. Kaoru looked over her shoulder at him, a look that obviously said she thought he was a nuisance. The man ran after her when she started traveling out of site. "Well then I'll just follow you, my name's Khean," he said. Kaoru glared at him, obviously annoyed. They walked for hours, neither one saying a word. Kaoru finally turned around;

"That's not a Chinese name." She said, stating a fact. Khean grinned toothily.

"No, It's Cambodian" he stated. Kaoru started walking again and he energetically strode after her. "Man that must have been bugging you for a while." He said. "You didn't say anything for a long time"

"How old are you anyway" Kaoru returned flippantly "Shut up already" Khean smiled all the wider.

Enishi dozed off in his seat on the balcony. He hadn't left his watch the whole three months, usually only sleeping when he knew she'd be safe for a while. It was rare, and the fatigue had finally overtaken him against his will.

"Enishi" a voice called out to him softly "Enishi wake up" He opened his eyes; Kaoru was standing on front of him. He almost fell out of his chair in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Visiting you," she said to him "I got bored" Kaoru smiled. Enishi glared at her.

"You aren't Kaoru." He said.

"No, of course not silly, you're dreaming." The kaoru-dream said, floating to a seat in front of him. "You should really take care of yourself more. Stop fawning over the girl so much."

"Shut up" Enishi said sourly, standing and walking over to the balcony, looking for Kaoru below. An energetic looking man was following her. "Who's he," Enishi muttered to himself.

"Oooh, now you know you're sleeping. You'd never be so expressive if you were awake." The pseudo-Kaoru said. Enishi looked over at her with a look that was a blatant duh. "You love her you know" It said.

"Why are you bothering me with things I already know, aren't dreams supposed to give you actual useful insights or something?" Enishi said, gripping the railing in frustration. Why hadn't he woken up yet?

"I know you know it" dream-Kaoru said "But does she" Kaoru's hand pointed to the figure walking in the pit below. Enishi grew silent.

"If this is a dream…" he started "Can't I hold her?" Everything grew silent for a moment.

"You can hold meeeee…" pseudo-Kaoru said, rubbing against his side. Enishi shoved her away.

"I don't want you, I want her," Enishi said growling at the apparition "Why are you here, I didn't make you up" the apparition grew a serious look.

"You're right," it said, it's form fading and taking the shape of Enishi as a child "I came here for a reason." Enishi gave the boy an 'oh it's you' look. "I want to make sure you know not to trust Fang." Enishi looked at the boy like he was stupid.

"Why do you think I'm always watching Kaoru?" he said.

"There's something suspicious about that guy following her. I don't think he'd part of the pit's unfortunates." Enishi looked at him panicked. "Don't worry just yet. I think he'd harmless for now." Enishi settled down "You may need to get her out ahead of schedule, without Fang knowing though. He's planning to take her away somehow." Enishi nodded.

"Yeah, I was thinking that myself"

"Of course you were, you're me." The boy said grinning. "Now… are you sure you don't want me?" The boy turned back into Kaoru in a puff of smoke, posing ridiculously, covered in just a blanket that was falling off strategically.

"Go away. You're nothing but a pervert." The Kaoru image smiled and started disappearing.

"I know…" it said, laughing as it went "I'm you aren't I?" Enishi growled threateningly, finding himself opening his eyes, finally awake. He cursed whatever it was that he ate the night before.

Saitoh sat on the deck of the ship and smoked. He had invited the Oniwabanshuu's Aoshi, but the man had flatly refused. Saitoh chuckled, he hadn't really wanted anyone coming along with him anyhow, and he didn't know why he had bothered. It had been a while since he left Japan; it should only be a few more days till he reached China. There were Wolves in China too, he would find Enishi. His prime concern was Kenshin though; luckily Chou had supplied him with the location of the pitiful rurouni.

Saitoh hoped to face the Hitokiri once more. He hadn't had a challenging fight since the last time, and he thirsted for hard earned blood. It had been a while since he left Japan as well, he'd only done it once before, at the end of the war.

"So, head-honcho, why were we going to china again?" Chou said interrupting his train of thought. He peered over at Chou through his feral amber eyes. Why had he brought the fool anyway… oh yes, as a distraction for Sanosuke if the man got in the way? Sanosuke intrigued Saitoh, and the wolf didn't want him killed just yet, it was far more amusing to watch him stumble aimlessly through life, as the rooster-head seemed to do.

"We're there to weed out the weak and useless" Saitoh said. Chou looked at him oddly, Saitoh always said things so seriously, yet there was always a very slight hint of cynicism and mockery hidden behind.

But by far the scariest face he'd ever seen on Saitoh was when the man was smiling, his eyes closed so much they tilted up happily with the rest of his face. And the voice that went along with it! Chou shivered as he made his way back to the sleeping quarters of the deck 


	24. Chapter XXIV- Mao

Kaoru looked behind her at Khean. He was getting downright obnoxious and wouldn't leave her alone. She had to admit though, his constant presence and occasional babble kept her mind away from other things. She sighed and continued on. She paused as she thought she saw the sun glitter off of something on the ground.

"Is that the lake?" she asked, she was looking forward to the water, she was having a bath weather anyone liked it or not. The blood was starting to get to her. She looked back over at Khean. He nodded at her.

"So are you finally going to see Mao?" Khean asked

"If he gets in my way perhaps." Kaoru returned

"In you way…?" Khean wondered. Kaoru gave him a sidelong glance.

"I have no need to join whatever organization lives here, and I have no wish to disturb it. I will only be her for another month or two, I'm not sure I've lost count of the time…" she trailed off, not bothering to finish whatever she had been getting at. Khean watched her as she started walking again, towards the lake.

Kaoru arrived at the lake and it seemed deserted. It was odd, anything being deserted around here, especially something with so much water. The people could live off of this. She chuckled ironically at the fact that she was going to waste it washing herself. She knelt by the water and was about to splash her face with it when she looked up to find herself surrounded by seven lean looking people. They wore human bones like clothes and blood like paint. She looked around, briefly wondering what had happened to Khean

Each one had a different name and image written across their chest, seven of the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac. She grinned as she noticed there was no tiger among them.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked arrogantly. She'd wanted to get into a fight rather than a slaughter and these people may prove to be fitting foes. She grinned feral, though she knew it likely didn't show up that way on her face.

"Mao wishes to see you" the rabbit spoke up, surprisingly the largest one of the group. Kaoru was curious as to how they determined their names.

"Do you expect to force me there?" Kaoru asked smiling all the more.

"No" the rabbit said unexpectedly, "If you do not wish to come to him, Mao will come to you." Kaoru looked at him puzzled, but finally she nodded and stood, pinkish water falling out of her hands to the stone ground beneath her… well at least her hands were clean for now, she said staring at them as old blood trailed off, mixed with the water.

She followed the group to a ruin of stone. The ground around had been torn up, and the building in the middle seemed to be built by the crushed stone, held together by human fat and blood. It was far from a large building, but it was enough for a room. The seven led her in where the small alcove housed a kneeling figure.

Kaoru kneeled in front of the man, and the seven left without a sound. This must be Mao, she thought to herself. She examined the man closely, His grey eyes looked at her, as if allowing her to do as she wished, and she didn't feel embarrassed to be closely scrutinizing him.

He was the cleanest person she'd ever seen in the pit, his hair, a light blond, a color she'd never seen on anybody before, was well kept. Although it was cut unevenly, it looked to be done so on purpose. His torso was undressed and also clean, although carved on it was an intricate dragon that spiraled along his body, detailed down to every last scale.

It wasn't a tattoo, and it wasn't done in blood, Kaoru could tell it likely took years of recarving it to get it to finally scar. She winced at the thought of someone mutilating their selves that way, and her eyes went back to his face, which looked to be no older than 16 although she knew from Kenshin looks can be deceiving.

His eyes bore a lazy yet sad expression, and looked almost in a way dead. They reminded her of Enishi, but they seemed to have lost or given something up, while Enishi still always retained that silent determination he held. Under his eyes were carved two long scars, which looked like tears, and seemed a lot older than the dragon.

"You're not what I expected at all" Kaoru spoke up suddenly, staring at the boy who was likely older than her, but she still thought looked at least two years younger.

"Neither are you" Mao said, his voice surprising Kaoru again. It sounded like the faintest murmur in the wind, and Kaoru found herself wondering what it would sound like if he sang. She smiled, something about this guy, he was easy to relax around, although she knew she shouldn't. "I have no wish to harm you" he said, as if anticipating her thoughts. "I only wish to ask you some questions." Kaoru looked at him in surprise.

"Questions?"

"You do not act, or look like any of the females that have been sent here, and none of them last more than a week usually." Mao continued, as if her query had already been asked. "I want to know why you are here, because you weren't forced here, that I know." Kaoru frowned slightly at him. She hadn't expected Mao to be so… polite. She had pictured a big burly or intimidating looking guy much like many that Kenshin had fought. And then to be presented with this… it was disconcerting, but she answered anyway, figuring it could do no harm.

"I came here by choice, you were right in that assumption" she started, her tone also falling to a murmur, coaxed that way by listening to the soothing voice of his. "But you're wrong if you say I wasn't forced. Although I can tell you one thing, If I had wanted to leave I already would have. Using the bodies of every last person in here as a ladder if need be" Kaoru said.

"I see," replied Mao, not even looking slightly confused as to what she meant. "Would I be correct if I were to assume that you were brought here by one who was once here before?" Kaoru opened her mouth, her expression surprised, as she was about to respond. Mao interrupted. "No, I see your expression and it is answer enough, I only wish to know who it is that brought you here, although I think I already know"

"Enishi" Kaoru said, curious as to weather he would recognize the name or not, and what he knew of her… her what? Her mind asked her before she finished the thought.

"So he has returned" Mao said quietly. "I will soon be able to rest." Kaoru opened her mouth to say something but Mao held up his hand "Do not ask any questions, all will be answered if needs be. Please let me tell you a story to pass the time away, for there is little time to wait now, and I grow weary of the silence." Kaoru looked at him curiously but nodded for him to continue.

"I was brought here not long after I turned 15, and like you it was a choice of my own, although likely the reason was different. I had already killed many people, including my own parents." Kaoru looked at him her eyes wide. She hadn't expected that at all.

"To this day I still feel no remorse, but I know it was wrong, so as retribution I carved these in my face" he said fingering the streaks under his eyes. Kaoru was almost frightened by the fact he could seem so calm while saying such things, but he still did not seem at all threatening which almost confused her more.

"I turned myself in as well, knowing that it likely wasn't enough, and I was brought here, where I met Enishi. He would have killed me if I had resisted, but he was disgusted by my lack of caring.

"He told me that if I were going to be punished, I should live in hell, and that this was the perfect place to do it. He convinced me that I could kill people here without it being something I should feel remorse for." Mao shifted his eyes to Kaoru's face. "I was the first to name him the Tiger." Mao said as he looked behind Kaoru at someone "The stage is set" he said simply "Watch the play unfold"

Kaoru looked up in surprise as ten men surrounded her and Mao, the rest of the zodiac signs she assumed. Their eyes were wrong, she thought to herself as she made to stand, Mao put his hand on her knee to stay her, and something in his expression made her comply.

Laughter came from outside the alcove startled Kaoru, she wanted to see who it was, but when he spoke she knew at once.

"How does it feel Mao, all of your people against you!" Khean said, "I drugged them all, it was hard to pull off, but I did it" Khean said walking in the alcove, a grin on his face.

"They aren't my people" Mao said calmly, not affected at all "They chose to use me as one would an idol, a meaningless figure, a carved Buddha." With each word, rage washed across Khean's face.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up you old man, you are nothing, you waste away in your own remorse because you don't even fucking know what remorse is!" Khean screamed at Mao. Mao just looked at Khean with an unconcerned face. Kaoru wondered if anything bothered him. "I'll kill you, you asshole, you bastard, eat shit!"

"I don't believe that would serve any purpose." Mao replied back, only infuriating the man more. The ten started towards Kaoru and Mao, and Kaoru was starting to get apprehensive, she wanted to attack them but Mao's look kept her still. What was he waiting for?

One of the twelve swung at her and Kaoru closed her eyes expecting to feel him hit her. A loud crash and what sounded like tumbling rocks sounded behind them and a garbled scream came from her attacker. Kaoru opened her eyes and looked up to see Enishi, sword stuck into the man that had attacked her.

"Damn fortune teller" Enishi muttered over to Mao "Always making a big scene." Kaoru almost gasped in surprise as she saw Mao fondly smile at Enishi, who was no longer paying attention as he fought off the nine remaining with ease. She would bet her life that that was a rare sight.

She stood and joined Enishi, although she knew he could easily kill them all himself, it felt too good to stand beside him once more. She smiled at Enishi as she cut down the rabbit, the one that had spoken to her before. Enishi looked at her for a moment and turned away, facing the next.

Kaoru sighed as she pulled her sword out of the body and cleaned the blood off with a quick movement. She didn't understand Enishi at all, but she knew this once, that she didn't want to live without him near her. 


	25. Chapter XXV

Yahiko was uneasy. He always felt like there was someone watching him. This was no good. No good at all. Everywhere he went he found himself glancing about himself nervously, but he never saw anyone there. He hadn't told Sano about his misgivings yet, He didn't want to worry the guy needlessly if this was just nothing.

He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw a bit of white hair go around the corner in front of him. Enishi? Was Enishi back for Kenshin now? No… Shinta, Kenshin no longer existed. Yahiko followed around the corner only to see the glimpse disappear around another.

Yahiko followed for what seemed like an hour, never catching a full view of what he was after. Finally he found himself led into a dead end alleyway. He looked around, and there was no sign of the person he was following.

"You couldn't make yourself more obvious" a young voice called out. A body dropped in front of him from the roof, standing up to look at him, pale skin and white hair. It was the boy from the boat! The one that had killed Heishin. "Fortunately for you, I had wanted you to follow me. Or you'd likely be dead now."

"You..!" Yahiko finally managed to blurt out. The boy laughed.

"Kousetsu" he said, bowing. "I believe I didn't give you my name before… As I didn't have one." The brat grinned. Yahiko was beginning to hate him, his attitude was too cocky.

"What do you want" Yahiko said, trying to hold back the anger in his voice.

"Well, although I did say I would come to kill you, now is not the time." Kousetsu said, grinning a grin like he'd only seen on Enishi once before. "I was ordered only to watch you this time. I noticed that you didn't seem quite oblivious of my presence this past week though, and I was wondering if you were getting better, or I was getting careless. So, I led you here"

"So this is a game…" Yahiko said, trailing off. Kousetsu nodded.

"You could call it that." He smiled. "Well I'll be off now, good luck in finding your way home" he turned to leave, but Yahiko grabbed him by the wrist. Kousetsu glared down at Yahiko's hand and then up at his face. "Careful boy!" he bit out. "I don't like people touching me, and I may just go against orders and kill you if I loose my temper"

"Then why didn't you avoid it" Yahiko asked. Kousetsu went silent. "There's something about you that bugs me, Kousetsu, and I'm going to figure out what it is no matter what" Yahiko said determined "You aren't what you say you are" Kousetsu pulled his wrist away and walked off, disappearing even before he got to the corner.

Yahiko sneered into the spot where the boy had disappeared. He wouldn't have to worry about that feeling of being watched anymore, now that he knew what it was, but something bugged him… How long had he been watched without noticing it.

Sano slung the baby under his arm as it gurgled it delight. He couldn't believe it had almost been a year since the cute little brat was born.. Almost a year since Yahiko showed up. And two years since he'd met Wei Li. He smiled over at her as he absentmindedly played with Mai. He was a father.

His mind wandered back to his own family for a moment, and his own father. He'd never gone back to see them, and now that he had a home in china, he doubted he ever would. He wondered if they were ok. His little sister that had helped him pack and sneak out when he joined the sekihoutai… He never would have imagined then that in ten or so years he would be here, like this, with a family.

Mai was taken out of his hands, and he looked up. Wei Li was smiling down at him.

"You're so good with her," she said "But I think it's time for her nap." Wei Li winked at him "I have other plans for you"

"Oh? Really?" Sano asked, placing his arms behind his head as he leaned back "What kind of plans" He raised an eyebrow at her. She leaned close over his face and kissed a corner of his mouth.

"Good ones" she said simply, sauntering out of the room wit Mai, heading towards the nursery. Sano grinned after him. It wasn't so bad after all, giving up everything in Japan.

"Good things will come to those who wait eh?" he mumbled to himself "I don't feel like waiting, I think I'll just go meet those good things halfway" he said standing and following after Wei Li.

Enishi looked down at the dead body of Khean. The man had foolishly and cowardly tried to run away. He walked over to Mao and pulled him to his feet. Mao unsteadily stood and smiled sheepishly at Enishi. What was with those sheepish smiles? Mao had done that as long as Enishi had known him. Mao stumbled and was caught by Enishi in one arm.

"How long since you've eaten, you fool," Enishi asked him, murmuring.

"I don't remember" Mao said shakily "I loose track of time." Enishi made an exasperated sound and handed Mao a bundle.

"Eat." He stated simply. Kaoru watched the exchange confused. Mao sounded so unsure. He'd been so... certain before. There was something odd here and Kaoru wasn't sure weather she should be worried or not.

"So how are we going to get out?" Kaoru asked.

"Not by making a ladder out of dead bodies," Enishi said, smiling. Kaoru stared. She decided that she wanted to see him smile at her like that more often. Enishi looked away and the smile disappeared just as fast as it had come. Enishi started for the perimeter, Mao in tow and Kaoru following afterwards.

Kaoru found herself almost wishing that she were in Mao's place in Enishi's arms. But she told herself not to think about it, and Enishi had carried her plenty of times, even though most of those she'd been asleep.

They arrived at the wall three hours later, and Enishi handed Mao to Kaoru and turned away from them searching the wall for something. As soon as Enishi turned around, Mao brushed Kaoru away and tried to stand up on his own. Kaoru glared at him as he fell and she caught him. She had been intrigued by Mao before, but he was starting to get on her nerves.

Enishi seemed to find what he was looking for, as he ran his hands down the wall, knocking on it here and there. He stopped tracing a line like a doorframe, and kicked in. The stone shattered. From what she could tell it had been at least four feet thick. Enishi had a damn strong kick. Kaoru found her gaze wandering, but she looked up when she found Enishi looking at her with an amused expression on his face.

He took Mao once again and headed through the tunnel that had appeared behind the demolished rock. Kaoru followed behind… feeling… well she wasn't quite sure what it was, but she didn't like it.

Saitoh leaned against the wall. Roosterhead really had gotten himself a girl. They were at it all the time. Saitoh stared up and puffed on a cigarette. How would that Ahou react when he saw him again. Did he still think I died? Saitoh smirked to himself, looking forward to their next meeting, as he pushed away from the wall and walked away.

Fang cursed as he realized Enishi was in the pit. Had he found out about his plans somehow? Or had he just gotten impatient. Why hadn't he just asked me to open it for him. He grumbled, he'd have to go through a lot of trouble to re-contain the rest of the people in the pit. And Mao, he didn't want to let go of Mao.

Mao was the figurehead of the pit, the Idol everyone killed in the name of. Even though he just sat there, he somehow inspired some sort of desperation in the people that kept them from giving up just yet. Enishi was taking away more of his toys.

Fang stalked down to the basement. He knew brute force wouldn't work against Enishi, but at the very least it would stall him for a while. Fang grinned. It was so cliché to keep someone like this in the basement but he just couldn't resist for that very reason.

He wrenched open the iron gate and continued into the labyrinth. There were two people he needed from here. He only hoped this would work. But he'd found that the most desperate plans often worked better than the carefully laid out ones.

The girl looked up at him with sightless white eyes, seeing more than he wanted to as usual.

"Why should I do this for you?" she asked in that raspy burnt voice of hers. Fang almost shivered at the deliciousness. Every time he saw the frail girl he wanted to hurt her and hear her cry out in pain. "You've already sent the other, why do you need me too." Fang frowned; he hated how she always knew things before he told her.

" It's to your advantage to do this" he said. "You've been wanting revenge for a while now. And if you succeed, I may just let you go" after I'm done with you, he added silently to himself. The girl smiled knowingly.

"You have no intention of letting me go." Fang glowered at her, knowing although she couldn't see it, she could feel it "But very well, the other benefit is reason enough. And I grow bored in this stale air." Fang looked at her. He knew she'd agree, just as he knew she would know he had intention of letting her go, yet he didn't know why he'd suggested it anyway.

"Lets go" he said turning around and stalking out the door of her room in the labyrinth. She paused to pick something up, and he shivered, not looking behind him. The appearance of that "thing" was something that disturbed even him, and he didn't want to see it ever again. 


	26. Chapter XXVI

Enishi stopped. They had been going through the winding tunnels for hours, and although there were many intersections Enishi always seemed to know where he was. Maybe he had gotten lost? Kaoru wondered apprehensively, but then she gasped as she saw someone towering over Enishi.

"So he's brought you out" Enishi said to the man. The tall man nodded. He didn't seem happy to be here. "I will of course oblige." Enishi said, and Kaoru noticed for the first time that the creature's lips were sewn together, and although his eyes were wild, they hold more fear than anger. This wasn't the creature's choice and it knelt over before Enishi, as if waiting for something.

Enishi brought out his sword and took off the huge head. Kaoru held back a gasp, knowing it was the large man's choice. She couldn't help but emit an odd sound as Enishi carved up the rest of the body and kicked it about. Enishi looked at her.

"If it looks like it was done on purpose, his given up life would be for naught. Fang was blackmailing him."

"You know him?" Kaoru asked?

"I did, once." Enishi said, stepping over the grotesque remains. Kaoru knew better than to ask anything more. Mao was silent as he leaned against the wall where Enishi had placed him. Kaoru helped him up as she passed by, wondering why Enishi hadn't himself this time. Mao showed no sign of complaining and slung an arm around her shoulder.

Blood, there was blood everywhere. The light was fading, but imprinted on his mind was the ever-present stench of blood. He looked to find himself in the snow. He felt, more than saw his arms moving in a great slash. The air in front of him was cut in twain, parting like water as before him fell a body.

Her hair spread out across the frozen ground and his hand rose to his cheek. It came away covered in blood as he felt a diagonal slash much like the one he'd dealt carved on his face.

He knelt by the fallen body and lifted up the torso, holding the woman's head in his arms. She smiled up at him and traced an identical line across his cheek going the other direction.

"Aishiteru" she whispered as she dissolved from his arms into a swirling maelstrom of snowflakes, falling to the ground and melting in the pooling blood.

"Tomoe" he heard his voice brokenly cry. "I have not forgotten you, come back to me" He said as he fell forward, his hands sinking in the blood. "What have I done… what have I done…" he wept as the snow fell around him, landing on his eyelashes and cheeks.

He lifted his hands out of the blood but it streamed off endlessly, never seeming to fade. The stream started pulling him forward, and he screamed as he tired to pull away, but he found himself surrounded by a sea of blood, sightless eyes attached to dismantled heads. Various grotesque remains floated about him he shivered as a grinning half demolished head brushed by him, it's skull gleaming stark against the blood as it sank slowly into the water.

Shinta closed his eyes, finally giving up to sing slowly after it into the depths. I'm drowning, he thought as the metallic tang of blood permeated his very being, he could taste it on his tongue and feel it burning his lungs as he breathed it in through his nose.

He opened his eyes once more, only to see a girl being attacked by a white haired demon. Its icy eyes peered over at him, it's body only a ribcage attached to a curled floating spine. Shinta found himself pounding on an invisible barrier between blood, and the scene unfolding before his eyes. He could do nothing as when he cried out, blood filled his mouth preventing any sound.

He couldn't see the girls face, but a stark scream tore through his body as the demon carved a cross shaped scar on the girls cheek with a skeletal claw. With every drop of blood the girl shed, the demon began to recover and grow flesh as it clung to its bones, organs draping off like dead meat at a butcher's.

The demon stabbed a hand into the girl's chest and tore out her heart. The faceless girl began melting, finally devolving into a puddle of flesh and goo. The demon turned around, its appearance now that of a tall naked human with white hair and still piercing eyes.

It held out the heart towards Shinta and the barrier faded. Shinta fell to the ground gasping and coughing up blood. He looked up at the demon, that seemed to look at him more with distain than hatred.

Then demon grinned almost insanely as around the heart floated the ethereal body of a black haired pale girl. She had a small scar under her left eye by her ear and wore an intricate Kimono that was falling off more than it was staying on, only barely tied together at the waist as her long legs curved out, floating around the heart.

She looked at him with broken eyes as the demon placed the heart in front of him. It floated as if it were in the ethereal image, the girl was standing before him. He found himself standing and reaching out to grasp her in his embrace only to find his hands digging into flesh.

He looked down to find a skeletal figure, hands embedded into the girls body as it bleed, muscles and tissue torn about the claws. He looked at his own body only to find a floating spinal cord. He was a demon!

He looked back at the girl who was crying out in pain as no voice came out. The other demon laughed at him silently as it faded away into blackness

"It is better to forget, you will only kill them again" a voice echoed out into the darkness that engulfed everything afterwards.

Shinta woke up shivering. He couldn't remember anything about the dream but those last words, and the voice that accompanied it. Then, out of the darkness came only one word. And he remembered the face that went with it as clear as a warm summer day. Shinta smiled, his heartbeat calming as he remembered her faint smile.

"Tomoe…" he whispered into the morning air as he stood up. Today he would shake of his past once more and go to work at the chores he usually took care of. As long as he could remember that face he'd have something to carry him to the next day. That, and his family.

Chou grumbled as he was chased and cornered into the alleyway. He missed his freakin sword collection. Damn battousai for ruining it, he thought good-naturedly. He really held no grudge, despite his complaints. Half the fun was collecting them so he'd just have a chance to get more. And now he had all of china to go through.

But there were these… _people_, and they were in the way! He thought as he punched one square in the jaw. My god, I'm lowering myself to Sano's level. He briefly thought as he backhanded another into a wall.

Why were they chasing him again anyway? Oh yeah. He had stolen a sacred sword from the temple here. It was a damn fine sword, although it wasn't Japanese. He examined the scabbard as he pushed another aside. What was it with holy stuff and making it look ordinary anyhow.

Saitoh was going to have his head if he didn't meet the psycho cop at the appointed time. That's your leader now, so you're likely psycho as well, he reminded himself as he bashed the last guys head into the wall.

These guards were just too easy. He whistled as he walked away, sword slung over his shoulder. What would Saitoh have planned for him this time?

Kaoru glanced over at Mao, he looked away at the last second, and Kaoru barely just caught him looking at her. This had been going on for the last fifteen minutes. I don't get this guy… she muttered silently to herself. She almost thought she caught a grin out of Mao, but when she looked he had as tired and forlorn an expression as there was when Enishi first showed up.

Enishi had started walking more carefully, and had told them to step only exactly where he did. Kaoru assumed that this labyrinth must have traps. Her thought was confirmed as Enishi slightly tested something on a wall and a volley of spikes came from nowhere and embedded in the wall where his hand had just been. He smirked slightly and muttered something about it being "just as he remembered."

Kaoru wondered just how many years he spent around all these places. Although he was younger than Kenshin by years, he seemed almost twice the age in experience. Kaoru never realized how much Kenshin had dwelt over one single thing. Kenshin was always gone from her, dwelling in the Bakumatsu.

Granted Enishi had done the same about his sister, but it didn't seem to last so long, and she couldn't blame him for picking something like that instead of all these horrors he'd seen. She knew Enishi hadn't even begun to show her the hell he lived through. Kaoru wanted to grab him and take him away from it all, but she knew well, that if not dealt with, one's past would come to deal with you.

She glanced over at Mao quickly, ending her train of thought, but this time she could almost swear he had been laughing.

Enishi walked carefully the laid path that he remembered so well from his year in the labyrinth. He checked for any new traps, but it was soon apparent that fang had not the foresight to install them. Either that or he greatly underestimated Enishi's memory.

Enishi was feeling a little wary though. Fang had sent out his favorite tool of 'force' even though he knew Enishi could easily beat him. Was he stalling for time? What else did Fang have up his sleeve? He shouldn't have stopped keeping an eye on him the year he started planning his Jinchuu.

He turned around suddenly as he heard a muffled sound behind him…. Kaoru! 


	27. Chapter XXVII-A new parting

Enishi spun around; anxious to see what had happened, but the sight was not something he'd expected at all. Mao was being held at the throat by an angry Kaoru… or at least that's what it had seemed at first glance. He strode towards them to do something about it but stopped suddenly as he noticed Kaoru's expression.  
  
Her eyes looked dead as her head tilted off to the side and all her body seemed to hang limply as if from invisible strings, except her arms, which seemed impossibly strong in contrast to the rest of her. Enishi reeled back. This was not good.  
  
"T'lin Hsing!" he shouted out angrily. "I know you're out there, show yourself!" There was no response from the silence of the shadows. Mao gasped in garbled pain. "Is your revenge so simple that you would just end it so quickly? I know there's something more you want."  
  
A small figure, girlish and light on its feet hopped out of the shadows gracefully and almost seemed to float to the ground. Enishi clenched his teeth to keep from shuddering in face of her blank gaze. She was likely one of the only things that disturbed him so. He was used to reading peoples thoughts and emotions mainly through their eyes.  
  
"You're very likely right." Her broken voice spoke, Enishi looked at her with distain, finally over his initial unease. She would only use it to her advantage. She smiled an odd sight on her sprite-like face. Enishi wondered still how she had avoided burning her face while everything else didn't escape.  
  
"It's not that simple at all, and I wouldn't let it be even if it was." Kaoru let go of Mao and hung like a doll from the air, her feet resting heavily on the ground. "I just wished to play a bit before I began"  
  
"You've been around Fang to long." Enishi said "You never used to use words like 'play'" T'lin frowned.  
  
"No, I just remember Mao too well." she hissed unintentionally, her burned vocal chords unable to do much more than that "He's a monster, I'll never understand how you can forgive him what he's done"  
  
"I don't" Enishi said "It's not my place to forgive or blame people, as I myself am a monster" Enishi smiled bitterly.  
  
"He will use your little girl as a toy," T'lin said, her sightless eyes shifting over to Kaoru and Mao, who also seemed suspended now.  
  
"No." Enishi said simply "That's what you're doing, let her go" he finished coldly.  
  
"I'd prefer they didn't hear any conversation between us" T'lin responded. "I can't do anything other than hold them now. Mao was always to strong for me to control, and your pet I only caught because she's unaware. I won't be able to do it again so I'd prefer to hold on for a while now." Enishi sighed and turned around  
  
"What do you want; you know I won't let you kill him." Enishi said, staring at the tunnel before them. T'lin seemed to fidget behind him; he could hear it even though he could not see her do it.  
  
"Is there anything I can do to change your mind?" She said quietly "I don't want to be forced to hurt you." Enishi didn't turn around  
  
"No." he said "I'm afraid you can no longer afford to hold back now." T'lin was silent for a moment.  
  
"I do love you." She whispered, knowing he didn't care "But my life is not my own… I am already dead." She seemed to float across the ground as she stepped in front of Enishi and ran her hand across his face. "I only miss my true sight… when I look at you" she said, a tear slipping down her porcelain face. Enishi looked down at her so coldly that she shivered, almost fearful for the first time in her life. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away from his face.  
  
"If you touch her" he started "I will give you your life back and you will know more suffering than you ever dreamed." He tossed her hand away. She rubbed her wrist and Enishi heard Mao and Kaoru fall to the ground, free from her arcane imprisonment. The last thing heard before the chaos began was a sob of insanity from T'lin before she disappeared into the shadows.  
  
Saitoh was loosing his patience. It was something that he couldn't actually ever remember doing. He frowned as he blew out a puff of smoke. He lived by a strict simple justice, Aku. Soku. Zan. Things like this shouldn't bother him.  
  
There had been no trace of Enishi or the Raccoon girl, although he had been surprised to discover that Kaoru had left with Enishi once again even after seeing Kenshin. As he thought of the state Kenshin was in now.. or this so- called Shinta rather, he found his initial surprise fading. It had been obvious that the girl was in love with the man.  
  
Saitoh had also been aware of Battousai's feelings for the girl, it had disgusted him to realize that they'd likely live along happy cute little life together until they grew old and had lots of fat happy babys. He smirked. It didn't look like that would happen now.  
  
Tokio, he had to admit, would likely never have a cute happy life with fat happy kids. He snorted. It had been her choice though, she'd had many men chasing after her, and it figured that she'd go after the only one that hadn't been. He took a drag of the cigarette. He'd been perfectly fine with keeping her once he'd got her, but he didn't show it much  
  
Over the years he'd discovered that she wasn't oblivious as he'd thought. She knew how much he cared. He still thought he could do better by her, although he likely never would. He'd never made her any promises. He had his own agenda and he'd damn well follow it. If Tokio was content to be nothing more than his shadow, then so be it.  
  
He sunk further into the shadows as Shinta stepped out of the building, looking around cautiously as if he felt something. The battousai was regaining all of his old instincts, he observed to himself as Shinta put his hand to his poorly concealed sword. I wonder If I should just do something now… Saitoh thought, preparing to step out of the shadows.  
  
Enishi dodged to the side, sweeping up a drained Kaoru besides him. He didn't worry about Mao; Mao could handle things himself, despite his frail appearance. He'd have preferred to leave Mao to take care of it himself but he knew him better than that.  
  
He cursed as he realized that Kaoru had passed out. This would be rather difficult. Not Impossible, but difficult nonetheless. The earth started to rumble and the walls flew at him at high speeds. He shouted out in determination and they disappeared, having never existed. Damn Illusions, he thought to himself as he ran to the side, dodging a small one he didn't want to waste the energy to dispel.  
  
He pushed off the wall, feeling slightly apprehensive as he realized something was wrong. He looked down to find himself holding Mao and not Kaoru. His eyes widened as he glanced back at where he'd thought he'd left Mao. Kaoru was gone.  
  
He'd told her not to touch her, she knew the consequences. He didn't understand it, unless, unless there had been a third party. T'lin wouldn't dare do it herself.  
  
"Fang!" he spit out into the empty air. They would both pay twofold for this. 


	28. Chapter XXVIII- A Horizon of Pain

Shinta glared at the man who stepped out of the shadows, his hand still on the hilt of his sword. For some reason the man didn't seem to quite fit in the Chinese style clothes that he wore, and there was something disconcerting about his smile, his eyes almost closed they were so tilted shut.  
  
"What do you want" Shinta said bluntly, dropping the polite mannerism he usually adopted. The man seemed to grin wider, and Shinta felt all the more that there was something missing from the equation.  
  
"Aa," the man started in a friendly voice "I was wondering if you've heard anything about a man called Himura Battousai" he spoke, one eye opening slightly, showing the amber depths as he enunciated the last word a little more meaningfully than the rest. Shinta relaxed his grip just slightly as he shook his head, sighing inwardly.  
  
There was still something disturbing about the man, but Shinta assumed he may just be some sort of undercover law official, as that was the sort of aura the man set off.  
  
"Is there anything else I can help you with Mr.…." Shinta trailed off, going back to his more polite speech.  
  
"Fujita.." the man said smiling. "Maa, I believe that is all" he almost seemed to chuckle "Be sure to look out for him though, he is armed and dangerous and there's no telling what his motives are" Shinta tensed and grasped his hilt tighter  
  
"Can you tell me anymore about him?" Shinta said almost nervously, was this battousai a threat to him and his family?  
  
"Aa. Well, I can give you his description" Fujita said still smiling. Shinta nodded at the man  
  
"Please do" he requested politely. Fujita turned around and opened his eyes, his smile falling into a smirk, although Shinta could not see it.  
  
"A short man, with hair the color of blood and amber eyes" he intoned dramatically, his grin widening "He bears a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek, said to be carved there by his wife as he murdered her in cold blood." By this time Shinta's eyes were wide and he was grasping the hilt so tight his knuckles were white. Saitoh didn't bother to turn around and see his expression before he walked off, already knowing what it would be.  
  
As soon as Saitoh was far enough away he leaned into the shadows of the wall and laughed, lighting a cigarette as the air filled with his maniacal malice. Where Saitoh left him, Shinta stood frozen, looking after the officer in a mix of fear and anger. He hadn't yet realized who the description resembled.  
  
He didn't understand the rush of feelings that ran through him, one of them being hatred. Had he known this man before he lost his memory? Shinta wondered. Would it jeapordise his family if he didn't remember everything? Was it time to let go of this new future and go spiraling into the past in order to protect it?  
  
He shivered at the thought, although not certain why he should be so reluctant and frightened. What did the past hold that he was afraid to face? He clenched his other hand in a fist so tightly that his nails dug little red lines of blood in his palm.  
  
Behind him lay a trail of blood, bodies slumped against the wall covered in their own guts and refuse, faces contorted in hideous death masks of surprise and pain. Yet he walked by them unaffected. Neither heaven nor hell could hold him, and although he didn't think people had the right to judge others, this wasn't judgment, but justice.  
  
Enishi grinned bitterly as he tore through another of the guards. Fang would regret even thinking about touching Kaoru, much less doing it. If he caused her any more anguish than Enishi already had himself, he would lower himself to Fangs level and take every second of pain given to Kaoru out in an hour of terror and screaming from Fang. It likely wouldn't take much as Fang was used to being the Torturer, not the tortured.  
  
He cut down another of Fangs Pseudo-ninjas. Damn, where the fuck did they all come from, Enishi wondered as one slammed into the wall, cracking it's head open and sliding down leaving a bloody smear behind. This was getting rather obnoxious he thought to himself as he stepped onto the exposed ribcage of a fallen acolyte of Fang's. He shook the body off and winced as his shoe and pant leg up to his ankle was dyed a dark, almost burgundy color by the blood.  
  
Through what eyes would Kaoru see him, covered in blood not his own. She had seen the pit, but he hadn't had a chance to find out how she saw him after that. Would she scream and shy away from him? He wondered painfully. He had no experience in what to do in this sort of situation. Kaoru was his first… the first person he'd cared for.  
  
Damn it, what would Fang do to her, would he dare do anything. Enishi shuddered in rage, taking it out on the next lackey as he left his sword by his side in one hand and used the other to crush the man's skull, spattering brains and blood across his face.  
  
Knowing Fang, the boy would likely not try to hide, expecting to be able to manipulate him. Enishi knew full well what Fang had tried to do years prior, and despite Fangs obvious thoughts, it hadn't even come close to working. Enishi headed towards the Tower, where Fang kept all of his other "toys." Kaoru would be held in the top, in the room Fang used to break people.  
  
Hang on Kaoru, I'm on my way.  
  
Mao sat in the corridor where Enishi had left him, running off to who knows where. No, Mao corrected, running off to Kaoru. Enishi had it bad, Mao grinned at the thought. He sobered up as he considered everything that was happening. His plans were ruined, although the result would likely be carried out anyway, he hated to see Kaoru have to go through what was ahead of her. He narrowed his eyes as he felt a presence.  
  
"Show yourself you whore" he spoke into the silence "It's time you told me what you have against me and why you dragged Enishi into it. You never so much as harmed him before. If I don't kill you first, he'll surely finish the job." Mao raised an eyebrow as he was rewarded with feminine laughter.  
  
"You still have no clue do you" the familiar voice spoke out. He'd never learned her name, and although he knew Enishi was aware of it… Enishi had never told him. "Although I have other spoken to you I have never shown myself" the voice continued "Perhaps it is time to do so now." She said stepping out of the shadows with a round object in hand. Mao blinked in surprise and gasped  
  
"Imouto-chan!" He exclaimed.  
  
"That's right" she grinned bitterly "Your precious little sister, your precious little sister that you killed…" she sneered with her sightless eyes. "You burned me in the house along with okasan and otousan's already bleeding and dead bodies!" she screamed, holding out the skull for Mao to see. "Our brother you impaled with a spear through his skull and hung on the wall… he was somehow still alive!" she cried, sobbing in her tirade.  
  
"He saved my life, in order that I promise to live out his and kill you." She whimpered, clutching the skull to her chest.  
  
"You were four years old" Mao said bluntly "And you actually understood what he asked?" he sneered, his face a replica of hers. "I was right to kill all of you. I still feel no remorse, you were monsters" he spat out at her "And now it seems I must finish the job." He sobered up as he finished one last thought.  
  
"You were always my favorite" he spoke to her "This killing.. I will actually regret"  
  
Enishi kicked open the huge oaken door with one solid thump, knocking it over into the room. He looked around seeing only various contraptions and disturbing devices that he shuddered to think of Kaoru in any contact with. There was no sign of either Fang or Kaoru. He cursed.  
  
"What the hell do you want from me Fang." He asked finally.  
  
"Now now, that tone of voice won't get you anything." Fangs voice reverberated into the room. He must be in one of the passages. There were hundreds of webs of passages between all the rooms in the castle. Fang likely knew every one by heart. Enishi cursed again, wishing he had stayed around long enough to learn all of those, instead of just the labyrinth below.  
  
"What can I do for you" Enishi bit out, mock politely.  
  
"Well that's no good either, but it's the most I'll get from you for now so it will do" Fang responded. It was coming from the wall to the west. Enishi wondered how long he could keep the fool talking.  
  
"It won't do you any good to locate me and take me out either" Fang said humorously "Kaoru is hidden well, and it would likely take months to find her, by which time she would have starved to death. You'll just have to comply until I see fit to lead you to her, and then you can work out any silly plans of your own." Enishi's eye twitched in frustration.  
  
Mao panted, warn out from the long battle they'd had. His sister was stronger in the arts than either of his parents or his brother had been. He held her bloodied body in his arms and looked at the shattered skull. He hated his brother all the more for what he'd done. She'd been innocent of all of that before. Half of the reason he'd killed them then was to save her from the corruption. She wasn't supposed to have been in the house when he burned it. When he'd found that out later, that was when he'd decided to turn himself in, overtaken by the accidental killing of his sister.  
  
For all of this to happen was a nightmare beyond what he'd been through before. All he'd done had only served to further the goals of his family in the end. But he'd won... He'd finally finished it all, if you could really call it winning. In wars, no one ever wins. And he'd lost more than he ever dreamed.  
  
He sobbed over her battered body, his hands slipping on the blood as he cradled her face. He shook as he held her, she was barely breathing yet but he knew it was to late anyhow.  
  
"Nee," she whispered brokenly, sounding like the little girl that she had once been "Why are you crying brother" it spoke to him.  
  
"Because I've lost everything I ever fought for," he whispered back.  
  
"I understand…" she whispered, her voice fading "I didn't know it was an accident" Mao's eyes widened. Had she mastered that hardest art of reading the very thoughts in people's heads? "I forgive you, don't be sad" she said raising a bloody hand halfway to his face before it fell limply to her side. Mao screamed. 


	29. Chapter XXIX

Enishi glowered as he saw Fang come out of the wall in just the direction he'd predicted. It figures Fang would wait until he was completely restrained, Enishi considered as he tugged experimentally at one of the manacles that chained him to the wall. Fang grinned one of those obnoxious lopsided grins at him, running a hand through his hair before raising an eyebrow at Enishi.  
  
Enishi expected that Fang could likely get anything he wanted in a normal way, if he wasn't such a sadistic bastard. Many a girl had fallen into his trap before finding out what he was and regretting they were even born. He sneered at Fang. He would make him suffer if he did anything to Kaoru. Even if he had to come back from hell to do it.  
  
"I suppose you're hating me now… as if you hadn't already done that before" Fang said smiling. "Of course it won't do you any good since you're chained up there, and I'm over here. By your own hand mind you. You very well could have disregarded what I said and killed me anyway" Fang grinned sadistically "I finally hit jackpot when you brought that girl here. By now you're likely regretting it in seven different ways." Enishi didn't respond, waiting for Fang to get to the point. That damned brat was always entirely too verbose. Fang chuckled.  
  
"You're not going to say anything to me until I tell you where she is right?" Fang said, nodding to himself as if he knew he was right. "We'll I'm not too sure that you're restrained quite well enough. I've seen you knock down solid brick walls" Fang looked over his shoulder as two of his guards walked in the room and over to Enishi. Enishi almost smiled as he noticed one was drastically injured.  
  
He looked down at them in distain as they stripped him down and one of them pulled a disturbing looking contraption off of the wall. Enishi didn't even flinch, having been here before.  
  
"You don't seem even slightly disturbed," Fang hissed seemingly pleased anyhow "But hear this; you will be mine before I ever tell you where your girl is. Only once you give over completely will I grant you that. And by then you'll be begging me to allow you to do the same to her." Fang grinned with an insane glint in his eye. "I know better than to torment your kind with pain, I will break you with pleasure" Fang laughed as he went on, seemingly enjoying the sound of his own voice. "You will beg me to keep you when I'm through"  
  
Shinta awoke in a cold sweat. He'd been having horrible dreams as of late, ever since Fujita told him of this battousai. He hadn't said anything to Sanosuke about it yet, afraid to disrupt his newfound family life. Sano seemed to need the peace that he'd been brought in China. It had taken a while but he'd been able to get out o him at least that they'd come from Japan.  
  
The nightmares had been getting worse though. At first they'd just been blurry unintelligible thoughts of blood and horror, but as time went on they'd been getting clearer. He witnessed mutilation beyond anything he'd imagined. A cold blooded murder of hundreds of people fighting for their lives, he could hear them as they cried out in pain, their last death wishes falling on death ears.  
  
He put his hand to his face and found that he was crying. He blinked in confusion because he felt nothing. There was a void in his heart that it seemed like nothing could fill. He could almost feel the wind rushing through it as it cried out a name he couldn't understand. He was hiding from something. That much he knew.  
  
It seemed obvious that his feelings escaped him because he didn't want to remember something. Something important, something monumental. Did he really want to risk bringing back the past when it might very well destroy everything he'd gained up until now? Shinta ran his hand though his hair in frustration and stood up. He had to get some fresh air.  
  
Yahiko crossed his arms as he watched Kenshin walk out of the house in a rather disheveled state. It seemed that Kenshin too, was uneasy, although Yahiko doubted he knew why. Yahiko had seen the exchange between Saitoh and Kenshin the week before. He had paled at the mention of battousai, but Kenshin hadn't seemed to be effected by it at the time.  
  
Now it was quite obvious that that wasn't the case. It was odd seeing Kenshin display so much emotion. Yahiko guessed that It made sense since Kenshin didn't remember well enough to have cause to hide his emotions. He really did seem like a different person.  
  
When he'd lived with Kenshin at the Kamiya dojo, there had been subtle mood changes. It had taken a while to notice them but he'd finally gotten a hang of noticing Kenshin's emotions. Now it was all the easier. And the definition between Battousai and Rurouni wasn't quite as similar. Yahiko shivered as he remembered the look in Kenshin's eyes that day when Kaoru had been attacked by him. It was far beyond the cold fury that Yahiko remembered from that last big change, the fight with Saitoh. And after Shishio, Battousai had seemed buried forever.  
  
Now there was no Calm medium between the two, no silent but productive Kenshin who sat and stared into space as he did the laundry. Shinta was either smiling or upset. And Yahiko was scared of him. More than anything though, he was angry that Saitoh had provoked the volatile Shinta. There was no saying what would happen now.  
  
And then there was Kousetsu. That boy with the eyes that were so cold a blue they were almost white. He'd disappeared after they had talked that once, although Yahiko knew for certain that he was likely still around. Yahiko got up and followed Shinta. There were just too many things gathering. It was likely just the calm before a storm.  
  
Mao walked through the piles of corpses lining the hallway the way Enishi went, marveling at the destruction. Some people had hit the walls so hard that it had crumbled portions of the stone and completely shattered their bodies. Not a single person was left breathing, although it was likely anyone who had been would be long gone.  
  
Mao nervously looked down the entrails-stained hallway. The way things had gone it should have been already over with. Enishi was more than enough to take out Fang and everyone else. Too much time had passed without Enishi's return. Mao headed down, following the trail of blood and destruction.  
  
He still felt numb from the experience with his sister. Not that the numbness was a new feeling, although he thought he had killed her before. He should have gone back and checked; he should have made sure and saved her all the suffering she'd gone through. He felt a familiar coldness settle over him as he climbed the stairs. A coldness that had followed him for years… until he had met Enishi.  
  
Maybe this time he would save the other, instead of vice versa, but he hoped to god he wouldn't have to. If only he believed there was a god.  
  
Kaoru opened her eyes, but all she could see was darkness, and the only feelings available to her were cold and pain. She felt tears dried and new trailing down her cheeks, although she couldn't remember crying, or where she had gotten them.  
  
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes again, the dark silence around her disconcerting. The last thing she remembered was following Enishi with Mao supported on one arm. She squinted her eyes even tighter shut, trying to remember what had come after. She could only recall an odd whooshing sound, like a wave overtaking and breaking on a rock at a cliff, and after that she awoke here, in pain.  
  
She concentrated intently on her surroundings, and her pain receded to a dull throb. It wasn't her head, so she hadn't been knocked out. Not the conventional way anyhow. She tried to move, but was rewarded with a new rush of pain. Her eyes flew open as they were assaulted once more by streaming tears.  
  
Where am I? She thought to herself Is this hell? She wondered then mentally shook her head. It wasn't at all as bad as the loneliness she was accustomed to. At least she was preoccupied with trying to figure out what had happened. She shivered as the darkness was getting to her. She didn't know weather she should be afraid of the lack of space or how much there was out there, as she couldn't even see that.  
  
She tried to open her mouth to say something, hoping to tell by the echo or lack thereof what kind of place this was. Her mouth was already open, she discovered with surprise. She couldn't move it as it was pried open by some sort of ball or something that was tied across her mouth by a gag. She just realized how sore her jaw was and wondered why she hadn't noticed it before, when all the pain flooded back again.  
  
Her senses were overloaded and confused, she reasoned. And she still felt a bit groggy. She winced as another movement brought another pain… along with a very faint sensation of rocking. She was suspended in the air! A startled gasp was garbled by the ball in her mouth as a new understanding of her situation came to her.  
  
She was bound in the air, her wrists were numb, bound behind her back with the same thing that bound her feet under them, and her legs were forced apart by some sort of pole. She whimpered, not wanting the realizations to continue, but it was too late as she could no longer hide behind her grogginess, it had fled with the horrifying sensation of being suspended in midair.  
  
She also came to the realization that she was entirely devoid of any covering, other than the toughened fabric, likely leather that held her suspended in the air. Bound around her breast and thighs, traveling to her knees where it held the rod that separated her legs.  
  
She closed her eyes again, trying to shut out the painful exposed truth of her current situation. But the Harness showed her no mercy, and the silence around her was deafening, filled only with the small broken gasps and whimpers that she could hardly believe came from her. She desperately wished for the blissful state of unconsciousness once more as she was engulfed in pain from inside and out.  
  
Fang cursed as soon as he left the room. Enishi had a disturbing amount of self control. Fang had gone through almost everything he knew, it had been hours already but nothing. No response, no pain no pleasure, no cursing no glaring, Just cold, stony silence and an expression of distain that drove Fang crazy. The man must be a bloody Eunuch although it was clearly physically otherwise. And Fnag had been known to get more emotion out of them than he'd seen out of Enishi.  
  
"What does it take to break you!" Fang screamed into the air.  
  
"You cannot break what was already broken." Came a murmuring voice from the door, Fang forced a smile and turned around to see one of his favorite toys. He could easily apply the same to him… but this man had nothing to break.  
  
"Mao" Fang spoke simply nodding to the older man. Mao didn't look much older at all, perhaps even appeared to be his junior. Fang knew that Mao had never been his. But he'd been content with that, as Mao had seemed to have no soul to speak of, and Fang had his sister as a trump card, if that would have even worked. His eyes fell to Mao's hand briefly, where he saw to sightless pale white eyes held there. Well… he'd had his sister.  
  
"I'm going to have to ask you to let go of Kaoru." Mao requested simply. Fang stared at him in silence as if measuring his words. 


	30. Chapter XXX- A light through the shadows

"You didn't ask anything about Enishi" Fang said smiling slightly, although he looked a little curious. Mao gave Fang a deadpan look to rival Enishi's usual expression.  
  
"Enishi can take care of himself… when he's not being blackmailed" Mao bit out the last part. Fang fought back a grin as he realized that Mao was pissed. Emotions were a tool to be used against someone. Although he had to admit, Mao was excellent at hiding them. Anyone else might not have noticed.  
  
"And what if I say no?" Fang said, amused by his observation. His light attitude would undoubtedly be a mistake. Mao's eyes further betrayed his anger as they darkened in a stormy grey hue. His expression, on the other hand seemed to grow even more apathetic than before. Fang observed him curiously.  
  
"I won't accept that as an answer." Mao murmured, his voice softer than a summer breeze. Fang couldn't hold back his grin any longer as he was enjoying the differences in Mao's emotions from the norm. He had changed his mind about not toying with Mao. More than anything he couldn't wait to get his hands on the boy, he thought to himself, fatally forgetting some of the prime reasons he'd kept Mao in the pit, and also forgetting that Mao wasn't the frail pussycat he appeared to be.  
  
"Ah well weather you accept it or not makes no difference" Fang said cockily. "You can't kill me because I'm the only one who knows where Kaoru is." Mao looked at him, his eyes seeming to clear up to a soft grey. Was he amused by what Fang had said? Fang lost his smile as Mao held up his left hand.  
  
The nails on his forefinger and pinky were uncut and sharpened to a point. He drew them down along the scars under his eyes, cutting a new thin trail of blood that trailed down his cheeks to briefly rest at the corners of his mouth before passing  
  
"Oh that doesn't make a difference either" Mao said, actually smiling. Fang was afraid, fear was something he'd forgotten about and had wished not to remember. Mao held up his other hand, outstretched with his sister's eyes still on it. "I can see into your mind" he said, his quiet voice seeming to reverberate throughout the room impossibly.  
  
He lifted his left hand over the eyes laxly as his own blood dripped down on them he seemed to murmur something in an arcane language. He drew his hands away from the eyes finally like jaws and blood streaked away from his fingertips as the eyes became the eyes of a dragon. His body was barren of the intricately carved scar as something whispered in the air towards Fang.  
  
Enishi sat chained against the wall still, the cold of the stone finally seeping into his back as the hot pain started to fade away. He almost wanted to groan but his discipline wouldn't even allow him that small bit. Anything akin to submission wasn't allowed to him… although he wasn't strictly set on being in control either. He desperately wanted more control in a situation like this. Kaoru… who knows what Fang had done to her already. He gritted his teeth, deciding that was more a show of frustration than anything else.  
  
He hissed in pain, not being able to resist that small concession as he shifted and his body protested even the small movement. This was not good. He was barely in any shape to move, much less do anything for Kaoru. He clenched his fists and squinted his eyes tightly. All he could do for now was wait and endure, and hope whatever happened he'd be able to erase it from Kaoru's mind, even though he knew more than anyone that you could never erase the past.  
  
He looked up suddenly as he heard an ungodly ear-curdling scream. That would be normal in a place like this, except that it came from Fang. He grinned. That would likely be Mao, because he couldn't imagine it being anyone else if it was a scream like that.  
  
Shinta leaned against a tree breathing heavily although he hadn't done any exherting activities. It was like he was being chased, except it was all in his mind. He had decided he wanted to get caught, but at that point when he turned into the pursuer, everything was still just out of reach. He leaned against he tree and slid down the trunk, resting heavily on the ground with a thud.  
  
He sighed as his hand rose to his cheek. From the bits and pieces he put together, his past was a dark and bloody one. What if he wasn't who he thought he was? He wondered. Would he revert to his old way of thinking? Would he be a danger to those I love? He pondered painfully to himself.  
  
He faintly remembered that dream he had now, where he had become a demon. Although he remembered little other than that. Was it some sort of premonition of what was to come? Or a memory of what had already transpired. He was lost in a sea of time with no compass as to where to go.  
  
A whisper permeated his mind, blown from a northern wind from the dark regions of consciousness. It spoke, and 'battousai' was the name it carried. Shinta found himself shivering as he realized when he found this manslayer; he would find all the answers. He stood up and wiped the excess dew from under his eyes, slightly disgusted at the depths of his distress as he set off, hoping to find officer Fujita, as he could likely tell him more about Himura Battousai.  
  
He breathed deeply as he looked over the pale horizon, his breath manifesting as a vaporous cloud. Safe. He sighed in relief, she was safe and things would stay that way for a good portion of the foreseeable future. He just had to keep her safe from her own curiosity now, it seemed to be the only thing that was in the way, but boy was it.  
  
It had been especially hard to find excuses to keep her from visiting the dojo and discovering the absence of the usual occupants. Especially hard to make excuses without making her all the more curious to go. He half smiled at the thought, sipping a cooling cup of tea. He had to admit that he'd sunk pretty low to do that. All he had to do was accidentally brush his hand across hers, or look into her eyes and smile and she completely forgot all thought of leaving.  
  
Noone could say that Makimachi Misao wasn't completely blind when it came to things concerning Aoshi-sama. Aoshi thought to himself humorously, albeit a tad mockingly. All in all, he would likely need to find an excuse better than a determent that he'd been resorting to. She would start to suspect things when Kaoru didn't send any word about anything. And It had been over a year, far longer than he should have been able to pull anything off.  
  
He grimaced as he thought of her likely response to his misleading. She would be upset that he would do something so cold as to completely ignore their friends' predicament. She wouldn't understand the need for them to resolve things on their own. She wouldn't understand that people can't always be together. People needed space, no matter how much they may love and care for each other.  
  
And sometimes the harder the task, the better it was that they stay out of it, especially considering the nature of things. It was a problem closely concerning only those residing at the dojo. Misao and he were far from the closest friends to them.  
  
It would be best if she never found out. This could very well be that one thing that could sour her love for him, but he was willing to take that chance if it meant her life. She had so much to live for, and so many people to live for as well. The Aoiya needed her, she was everyone's youngest, their pride and joy, and she further made them proud by taking responsibility of running the place. Too much would be lost by running off for who knows how long to an uncontrolled territory.  
  
The oniwabanshu had enemies in China that he didn't care t dig up, both sides had settled on being content as long as the other stayed out of their business. It would be more dangerous for Misao and he to go to china than it would for Kaoru. She had an escort who had tentacles all over there and here. Enishi was not someone to be trifled with, and in light of her not being killed before, he doubted any harm would come to her.  
  
He hoped that his luck would hold out and they would all come back soon, so as he wouldn't need to make up some excuse or lie to keep Misao from following them. He did hate mistruths and silence was often a better answer, but in this case he knew it wouldn't help anything. Misao could find things out on her own. He doubted it would be the case though, them conveniently coming back in time. For him, things rarely wrapped themselves up so easily  
  
Mao helped Enishi out of the shackles on the wall, having winced at the sight of enisi when he came in. Enishi noticed curiously, that the scarred dragon carved on Mao seemed to be in a different position, and the eyes had changed from dark, to clear. He didn't ask about it though, grateful to Mao for getting him out of this predicament.  
  
"Did you find out where she is?" Enishi asked urgently, trying to stand and succeeding, albeit barely so. It was obvious only sheer determination held him up against gravity. Mao grinned and nodded his smile fading before he spoke.  
  
"I'll lead you there, but it would be better if you retrieved her alone. It will be bad enough even you seeing her in the state she's in" He said in a mix of sorrow and bitterness. Enishi glanced up at him quickly, disturbed at what he was saying, relieved that it meant no one was with her, and wondering how Mao knew all this, but he didn't say anything and just nodded.  
  
After Enishi donned his bloodstained and rather ruined pants, the two traveled through a long dark row of tunnels, the further they went the danker and more mildewed it got, and the less light penetrated into the heavy shadows. They came to a point where Mao shuffled to a stop before a small stream of light coming out of a slotted window to the side. Mao looked over at Enishi, his mouth quirking nervously as he spoke.  
  
"There are no more turnoffs beyond here. It's best I wait here for now." Enishi shook his head.  
  
"It might be better if you waited at the exit. I can find my way out" or make a new one, he finished the thought to himself. Mao nodded at Enishi's apparent determination. Mao paused before he left though, and handed the battered man Kaoru's katana.  
  
"I picked it up after you stormed off after fang, they'd left it behind." Enishi nodded and took it from him, wanting to ask about T'lin but thinking better of it. He knew both of their stories, and undoubtedly the meeting had been painful for both parties with no hope of a pleasant ending.  
  
He walked of towards Kaoru's freedom, each step becoming harder to walk, at the same while his heart lightening knowing she would no longer have to endure such pains. He didn't want to see whatever Fang had done to her, in hopes that it wouldn't be true but he walked onward, nothing so small as his own mental disorientation anywhere near stopping him from his goal.  
  
Kaoru's eyes were still squinted closed when she saw the room lighten even through her eyelids. The sensation was accompanied by a creaking of a door, so Kaoru had no doubts as to the validity of the action. She was afraid to open her eyes, to see who walked through that door, but in a sickening painful movement, she couldn't help herself as she opened one eye.  
  
Both of them shot open as she saw a battered and bloodstained Enishi, but despite his injured state, there was nothing she'd be happier to see. She tried to cry out his name, but with the gag it came out as a garbled pathetic plea. He met her eyes then, and she thought she would drown in the depths of emotion she saw there. Sorrow, relief, anger, remorse, all swirled in the depths beyond his sight. She wanted to close her eyes again in shame as she also saw herself reflected in his eyes.  
  
Enishi strode forward, saying nothing as he quickly worked to free her from her suspended imprisonment, first removing the objects that had caused such torturous pain with each movement, and then the actual harness. Lastly he removed the gag from her mouth and she swallowed and gasped, two actions not allowed to her for the last… she didn't know how much time had passed.  
  
As her legs failed her from being bent and tied so long, Enishi caught her, and she could feel how tenuously he was standing himself. She wondered what could have happened to him to cause so much damage, but tears pooled in her eyes as she realized he'd likely gone through worse than she had, yet here she was thinking only of herself.  
  
Despite that she couldn't control herself as she threw herself at him, grasping tightly to his frame as she cried. Words came out of her mouth but she barely believed what she was saying as they did.  
  
"Enishi.." she all but croaked before swallowing and starting again "Enishi make me forget," she sobbed her heart trembling, afraid he would say no or reject her request somehow. She tilted her hear into his bare chest and whispered again, her hand running down his pack, feeling him unconsciously flinch as she rubbed a raw spot "Onegai, help me forget…" 


	31. Chapter XXXI-Revenge

Enishi looked down at her, not with pity but with some other unreadable expression that Kaoru couldn't quite understand. It wasn't what she wanted, she could tell that much. She had a sinking feeling that she was going to be left alone with her nightmares, but Enishi lifted her up and quickly wrapped her in a cloak like a child, carrying her cradled in his arms out of the room.  
  
All the tension and fear fell from her body as she sunk into him and quietly cried with her cheek resting against his chest. They seemed to walk through the tunnels for hours, and she could feel a growing frustration rising from Enishi as he turned around another corner. He set her down against the wall and started to walk away. She was about to panic and call out to him when he stopped in front of a section of wall.  
  
He tapped a bit on the wall checking the sound and then paused for a minute as something occurred to him. Finally he rose a foot and kicked down slightly diagonally with one quick thrust, breaking the floor below them leaving a gaping hole. He picked her up again after peering through it, and carried her over to the new opening, hoping down through it to land on his feet heavily, almost twenty feet below.  
  
Kaoru wouldn't imagine his body could hold up so much, but she was somehow afraid to say anything, his stony expression calling for silence. Kaoru observed the room they were in, which was mostly barren and clean, other than a bloody mess smeared all across one wall. Her eyes widened as she also saw great scratches across the wall as if a beast had been there. As they left the room she almost missed the glint of a single earring on the floor lying in stark contrast in black and white, to the dulled brownish red smear across the wall.  
  
Enishi considered her request as he carried her out of the building. He knew exactly what she had been asking, but it would be better if he feigned ignorance. The last thing he wanted to do was take advantage of the situation that was his fault in the first place. She didn't really want him, he reasoned as well, He didn't want to be a mistake.  
  
Kaoru peered up at him, and she could tell he was deep in thought. She grimaced at the thought that she could very likely be the cause of all those injuries inflicted on him. She wanted to trace her hands down those angry red marks covering his face, chest and back... and likely places she couldn't see beneath the pants he wore. All of the welts stopped just barely before the point of breaking skin.  
  
Someone had taken great care to abuse him to the point of collapse without doing any permanent damage. She cursed the hand that did this, as she had the urge strong to take care of him, but doubted very much that he would let her.  
  
When they got out of the building, Mao had Fangs personal carriage ready for the bunch and they all piled in, the driver happy to help them with no complaints as he would be allowed his freedom after this one last job.  
  
Kaoru found herself falling asleep to the rocking of the carriage, and throughout the week long journey no meaningful words were exchanged, although Kaoru was dying to say something. There wasn't the opportunity with Mao around.  
  
They arrived at a hotel finally, and Kaoru was glad to have a chance to sleep on a real bed. It briefly occurred to her that she hadn't slept on a futon bed in a long time. She shook the thought off before it brought more memories back than she could handle. For now she was just tired and she preferred it to stay that way.  
  
Kaoru flumped onto the bed, worn despite the fact... or rather because she had been sitting in a carriage all week, non-stop. She hoped tomorrow that she could have a chance to speak to Enishi alone. She didn't know quite what she wanted to say. She wanted too tell him how she felt... She had lost the last person she'd loved because she hadn't said anything.  
  
But how, how could she say anything at all when.... She'd like to be able to brush off the events in the castle like so much dust; they'd both gone through something similar, so it wasn't like he wouldn't understand.  
  
She sighed and shivered as she thought of what had been done to her. Now that she thought about it, Enishi had only really sent her into the pit because he knew she'd be safe with everything he'd taught her. She smiled a little at the thought and remembered the brief look in his eyes when she had said she would go. With that in mind, she drifted slowly off to sleep, dreaming of having Enishi's arms around her.  
  
Deep into the night, a shadow crept into her room. Kaoru stirred uncomfortably, likely the force of the concealed presence disrupting her dreams. But the shadow stopped, and Kaoru slowly stilled once more sleeping peacefully. The face on the shadow smiled ferally, his amber eyes slitted as they watched carefully his current prey.  
  
Enishi hauled Saitoh out of the room violently, looking over his shoulder to see if he had woken Kaoru. She was still asleep. He smiled as he walked out of the room, Saitoh in tow and threw the cop against the wall. Saitoh lifted himself up and leaned against the wall, a smirk still plastered across his face.  
  
"What do you want" Enishi said, narrowing his eyes. "You purposely alerted me to your presence. I don't imagine you came here just for me to beat the living shit out of you." Saitoh lit up a cigarette and lit it.  
  
"No I trust you're quite right about that." He said placing the cigarette in his mouth. "I am currently involved in a cat and mouse game" Saitoh said with a smile "Unfortunately the mouse thinks he's a Cat and I need to borrow another mouse in order to remind him." Enishi frowned as he realized what the man meant.  
  
"Kaoru" he said simply. He paused as Saitoh nodded. "Why come to me then, you could very well have just taken her without my knowing" Enishi said a slight twitch developing in his left cheek as he thought of the implications of his words. The man really could have snuck in and done something to Kaoru before he noticed.  
  
"Ah yes very true." Saitoh responded looking strait at Enishi as he spoke. "But even a wolf knows not to steal from a Tiger." Enishi raised his eyebrow. Saitoh continued the explanation "Had I just taken her, you would have tracked me down and ripped me apart. You're stronger than the battousai, who at his full potential is my equal. I know my limits." Enishi nodded accepting the explanation albeit grudgingly.  
  
"So you want to ask me if you can borrow her..." Enishi asked incredulously. Saitoh shook her head.  
  
"No I'm pretty sure you wouldn't go for that. I just thought I'd remind you not to let her forget about her revenge." Enishi looked up at Saitoh sharply, wondering just how the hell the man knew that. "Kousetsu." Saitoh said briefly in explaination "He'd been following the Roosterhead and Battousai around for weeks, did you think someone wouldn't notice?" He eyed Enishi sidelong as he blew out a puff of smoke. "You're lucky it was me and not one of the others." Enishi didn't respond.  
  
"Although I didn't contact him until I had information leading me to believe you were back in the area."  
  
"Rest assured" Enishi started, drawling slowly "I prefer not to leave loose ends untied. Kaoru will see Kenshin." Saitoh smiled at that and faded into the shadows, leaving Enishi brooding.  
  
Kaoru awoke refreshed. Something she hadn't done in quite some time. She hopped out of bed, only to find a new set of clothes laid out for her, just like the ones Enishi had given her before. She smiled warmly and quickly dressed herself, Afterwards heading out of her room downstairs to the lobby.  
  
As she reached the lobby, an attendant recognized her and directed her to the restaurant where the rest of her party was waiting. Mao for once was fully dressed, only hints of his tattoo showing near his neck. He in fact looked like a young lord, despite the two scars under his eyes. His outfit a vest with shoulders that extended beyond his own, and underneath a sleeved shirt that his arms seemed to drown in.  
  
Kaoru only briefly glanced at him, her gaze switching almost instinctively over to Enishi. He was a sight she was now very fond of, even though she had once been frightened of him. He was also dressed in an unusual manner, wearing a simple thin silk shirt, that fastened up to his neck in the Chinese style, but hung past his hips, secured in place at his waist by a sash.  
  
Enishi scooted over on the table, allowing for Kaoru to have a seat. Kaoru noticed that something was likely bothering Enishi, as he had a dullness to his eyes that she had only seen when that was the case. She opened her mouth to ask him, but thought better of it, remembering that the easiest way to get answers from him was to say nothing.  
  
Sure enough, halfway into the meal, Enishi spoke up. Although what he said was the furthest thing from Kaoru's mind.  
  
"I don't know if you noticed" he started "But this is the same inn that we had stayed at when you decided on revenge against Kenshin." Kaoru paled considerably, the whole thought having been one she's forgotten, since all she'd been thinking about was confessing her feelings to Enishi. Enishi noted her expression. "You haven't changed your mind, have you?" he said curiously... with a note of, something else behind it. Kaoru shook her head.  
  
"Although revenge has lost it's importance now, I know I still have to see him again," she said looking off into her soup "This is something I can't leave unfinished." Enishi nodded.  
  
"Before we go, There are some things that you ought to know so you won't be caught surprised." Kaoru tilted her head to the side in curiosity as she looked at him.  
  
"Kenshin has Amnesia." Kaoru's eyes widened as Enishi continued "The woman with him was not his, and the baby she carried belonged to Sanosuke" Kaoru almost choked on her food at the thought of Sanosuke as a father. "He didn't even see who it was that he struck out at when he hit you, because afterwards he was distracted by the woman, Wei Li's water breaking." Kaoru sat in contemplation of his words. She looked at him again, waiting for him to say something more. Enishi caught what she was asking, although he looked a little hurt.  
  
"No I did not know this until just recently. Kousetsu, the boy who you spied me with in the cabin on the ship, was watching them while we were away" Kaoru nodded, relieved.  
  
"Sorry if I doubted you... I just had to know for sure" She smiled lopsidedly. Mao chuckled from across the table and they both looked at him. He looked like he was about to say something but it was silenced by a glare from Enishi.  
  
"Ah, either way it's too late" Kaoru spoke "Although I still care for Kenshin," Enishi flinched almost imperceptibly, but it was there "I've lost any thought of being together with him now" She smiled at Enishi. He looked away.  
  
"I couldn't see him the same way I used to" she said looking down at the table again, feeling rejected by Enishi. She'd have to explain to him later, that it's because she loved Enishi more than she'd ever liked kenshin, that she couldn't see ever... she trailed off in her thoughts.  
  
"Besides, I'm not the Kaoru he used to know. This meeting, in more than just his amnesia, will be like meeting for the first time"  
  
Enishi looked back up at Kaoru, but she couldn't read anything in his gaze. She only hoped that by so few words, she hadn't ruined any chance she had. She smiled at him, knowing better. By what she'd seen the year she was with Enishi, He wouldn't judge someone by such a little thing. She looked over at Mao, who although he wore a mostly blank expression, she could tell he was rather amused. Enishi Stood up, Drawing Kaoru's gaze once more to him.  
  
"Well then" he spoke, throwing on a cloak over his shoulders. "We may as well get it over with now" he said a little sharply as he handed Kaoru her sword. Kaoru's eyes widened as she clasped it to her, she had thought it was lost in the castle.  
  
She and Mao both stood after Enishi and followed him out of the inn towards the impending meeting, which the outcome was unpredictable... except maybe by Mao, who smiled lightly the whole way... 


	32. XXXII- Reacurring Dreams

Shinta stared off into the fading sun as he had for the last few evenings. The brilliant display of color didn't help to sooth his nerves the way he had imagined they would. He vaguely remembered getting up every morning to watch the sunrise and he told himself that was not an act of a killer.

He bit his lower lip, wincing as he drew blood. Who was he to say what an act of a killer was when he didn't even know one… In some ways this amnesia made him as naive as a child, and he wanted through with it. It had been a long time since he had 'woken up' and whatever heartbreak that had brought him there seemed shallow in the face of the emptiness not only in his future, but surrounding his past.

He jumped, startled as he heard the sound of rustling grass in front of him. He had been so caught up in his daze that he had not noticed the three approaching figures that where silhouetted in the setting sun.  Something about the figure of the first man seemed familiar, but as they now only seemed like a blurry shadow, it was hard to tell. 

Shinta put a hand to his head, feeling a real headache coming on. It was always like this when he thought he was about to remember something, but this time he mentally forged right into the pain, coming up with only one thought. 

'Demon!' he looked at the figure startled. It was the figure of the demon in that dream he barely remembered. But that was ridiculous he thought, the dream must have been based on some past experience though, as he doubted he'd just see someone in a dream that he'd never met before in his life. 

The demon was less than ten feet away now, as he let his gaze drift to the two people with him. A petite girlish figure with loose, yet form-fitting clohing walked close to his side, she almost seemed afraid of something, yet the look in her eyes was determined. 

Those eyes.. they drew him in deeply as he found himself ignoring the demon and  enthralled by the girl. He looked at the ground when she flinched, as if stabbed. Did he know this girl once? He asked himself, Is that why she seemed to interest him so? His intuition answered his question with a yes, and he gazed up at her in apology, wondering what could erase the pain of being forgotten.

Kaoru almost backed away at the forlorn look in Kenshin's eyes.  He was looking at her like he would erase all the pain she'd ever suffered if he could. She swallowed and kept walking alongside Enishi, Enishi threw a sidelong glance at her, as if noticing her mental hesitation. Why was he always so perceptive even when she didn't want him to be, she wondered.

She sighed as they stopped in front of Kenshin, who was still looking at her, apologizing for whatever world of pain she'd been put through. She glanced up at Enishi, uncertain; he looked strait ahead, not even acknowledging her look. She smiled. He was rough around the edges, but that made what was inside so much better.

She looked back at Kenshin, her eyes had lost whatever it was that he had felt like he had to apologize for, because his expression had turned into one of confusion.  Her heart grew warmly, and she was finally able to look at Kenshin without feeling the pain of what she could have had. 

She was even glad for all the pain she'd gone through since that day, because without it, she would not have been able to know Enishi, might not have ever seen him again after he returned her to the dojo.  She loved Enishi more than anything, and those rare moments, she realized, where they had shared a quiet happiness, and those moments he had laughed, and even those moments he had tormented her, were the fondest memories that she could remember having.

She chuckled, and then started outright laughing, as she realized how lost Kenshin looked.  Enishi looked at her with a raised eyebrow, but finally broke with a faint smile. Kenshin looked even more confused.

"Oro?" he spoke. "Do I know you?" he asked finally after a pause, doubting the conclusions he had arrived on.  Kaoru nodded her head.

"You used to live with me" She said smiling, as if it was the simplest most insignificant thing, as if she were offering someone a cup of water, or giving them the time. Mao smiled from his standing point five feet behind. It looked like he wouldn't have to play any games to get them together now. He shrugged. Enishi might still be a difficult one, so he might still have a chance, he thought as he silently chuckled.

Shinta stared at her in silence for a few moments as he stared at her. His hand rose to his scar when the sun turned red on the horizon, casting a tint that looked much like blood on the girl standing before him. He started shaking, and when he pulled his hand away it also was covered in blood. 

Kaoru stared on, her eyes wide as she watched Kenshin dig his fingernails into the scar on his face. She almost felt like retching as she saw his eyes change color. He seemed to hiss, but not in pain.

"That's right" he rasped "That's right" he said again, his voice dropping any politeness "I killed you" He smiled, but it quickly fell into a shallow frown, his expression cold. "This is what happens when I try to remember what should not have been recalled" he laughed almost brokenly, the tone reminding Kaoru of the laugh she had once heard from Enishi… Had they just traded sanities?

Kenshin fell to the ground and wept. Finally he halted as he looked back up at Kaoru. He put one bloody hand to his sword, and in a quick movement, faster than an unsuspecting eye could see, he swung at her and resheathed in one movement, now standing on his feet as blood dripped down his face. Kaoru barely dodged it, as she herself wasn't expecting it, but luckily he wasn't quite as up to speed as he usually was as battousai.

"It seems that the only thing to do now is finish the job" he said coldly, and Kaoru found herself wishing to hear a gozaru, or dono from him. She didn't want to fight him. "And after I kill you again… maybe I'll remember the past" he continued, and then his eyes turned to Enishi. "You, I will kill afterwards, as I believe you must be the embodiment of the killer in me." He looked down at his bloody hand on the sheath "That damn cop knew it the whole time, he knew that I was battousai.." Kenshin sneered as he got ready in battle stance, facing Kaoru once more.

Kaoru smiled lopsidedly, not liking this as she unwrapped her own sword, tossing the sheath and wrappings to Enishi, who caught them and stepped away, giving the two room to fight. Kaoru wasn't sure she could hold her own against kenshin, having seen him fight, but she trusted if things got out of hand Enishi would likely step in. All in all, she did prefer to take care of this herself. 

Kenshin charged at her, and Kaoru was surprised to find herself moving as well, It was almost instinctive now, the subtle movements of her wrist, and the gliding movement of the sword. The weapons clashed against each other in a loud display, setting of sparks now and again.

Kaoru panted five minutes into the fray, surprised she was even keeping up, but it was apparent that although she had vastly improved, Kenshin was still faster.  Kaoru clenched her teeth to avoid making a sound as she was thrown back by the impact of the swords. Had kenshin been going easy on her up till now? She looked at him, panting himself and shaking erratically.. No he hadn't He wasn't even in complete control of his movements.

Kenshin knelt next to her, taking her face in his bloodied hands. His eyes looked at her with sadness, like a little boy who had given his sister the knife she had taken her life with.

"I don't want to do this" He whispered. Kaoru was about to say then don't, but was interrupted before she had a chance to speak by his next words. "But you're already dead, and I don't even remember you." He wept "I find myself not caring about this, and it scares me, it scares me" He hugged her close, sobbing into her chest, and Kaoru was somehow reminded of the boy who had been torn apart in the pit.

Her memories were soon clouded though, as she felt a sharp pain in her side. He eyes widened as she pushed kenshin away, finding more blood on him than before. She looked down at herself, only to find a knife to the side of her stomach, and all she could do was hope it hadn't hit any vital points, and wonder when he'd gotten a knife.

She clenched her teeth against the pain and stood, looking down at Kenshin, who was either laughing or crying, either way the sound was disquieting. She picked up her own sword, her hand s slick with her own blood as she stood above him. She swallowed as she made a quick, precise movement with them, severing the tendons in Kenshin's right hand. 

That amount of skill in an insane man was dangerous, she thought as her breathing became a little difficult. She half groaned as she realized she was going to faint.  She hated feeling weak…  Enishi caught Kaoru as she fainted, and started to carry her off to the hotel, pausing to look over at Mao. 

"Pick him up an deliver him to the appropriate address will you?" Enishi said, pushing his glasses up on his nose, Kaoru still in his arms. Mao nodded, and slung the retired bloody manslayer over his shoulder as he headed in the opposite direction.


	33. XXXIII-Bleeding together...Bleeding apar...

Kaoru awoke once more in her bed. She chuckled an ran a hand through her tangled hair, wondering how many times that had happened now, Enishi  
  
carrying her to her bed. If only the connotations were as people would usually assume, rather than all these unusual situations that had led to it.  
  
Kaoru sighed. A small sound that could only be described as a mix between a laugh and a 'hmph' came from the other side of the room. Kaoru looked over, seeing Enishi perched lazily in a chair against the wall.  
  
She looked at him curiously, not quite certain how he could manage to sit so strait yet still look so relaxed. Maybe it was just an illusion caused by his height. She stifled a snicker, gaining a raised eyebrow from Enishi, his deadpan bored looking eyes peering over the rims of his dark glasses.  
  
He had started wearing them again as soon as they'd gotten back from the north. With the glasses his expression had changed back to the one she'd often seen him wear on the island when he'd kidnapped her, and for that matter, also on the ship. She wondered if they weren't some form of a mask, even if it was mostly a mental one. She was a different person when she wore a kimono, so she knew how it could very well be likely.  
  
Kaoru watched him watch her, the thought itself making her smile slightly at him. He wore a slack expression that made his mouth fall easily into a natural frown, despite that slight upturn at the corners of his mouth that she remembered noticing before.  
  
Only Enishi could look relaxed and tense at the same time in every aspect, including his facial expression. He always moved about with so much ease, it wasn't hard to believe he would sit still the same way.  
  
Kaoru began to sit up but was halted by a sharp pain in her side. She winced and fell back with a hiss of air. She'd forgotten she'd been stabbed. Now how could such a thing escape her memory... Well the same way Enishi's being there in the first place had escaped her notice... ok, not quite. Enishi was good at not being noticed when he didn't want to be.  
  
"I was waiting around to tell you to stay still, or you'll tear the wound open again." Enishi spoke, his voice heavy, breaking but not quite shattering the silence, as it was not a displeasing sound. Kaoru glared at him.  
  
"Well why couldn't you have warned me before I moved" she said a little painfully.  
  
"You seemed so busy staring at me, I was loath to interrupt" He replied, sounding completely serious, yet Kaoru got the distinct impression that he was making fun of her. How did he do that! She thought furiously as she was content to just glare at him for now. She'd get him back later.  
  
She turned her head to the side with a snort, but not before seeing the corner of Enishi's mouth twitch. She smiled into the wall, certain now, that he had been making fun of her. She heard him get up and leave, and turned her head towards the door, disappointed to loose his company.  
  
Enishi walked into the lobby, only to find Mao surrounded by girls. He had an amused look on his face as he chatted with them, although it seemed more like they were fawning over him than anything else. Enishi almost choked at the sight. He'd never expected Mao to be a playboy. He admitted that he'd even wondered if Mao was interested in girls at all.  
  
Mao finally noticed him, after a couple minutes, and excused himself from the girls walking towards Enishi with a slightly concerned look on his face. The girls hovered where he left them tittering and giggling as they watched him, exchanging looks between each other.  
  
"Is she alright?" Mao asked sincerely as he stood in front of Enishi. Enishi nodded, looking over at the girls with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"I never thought you were the type" Enishi said. Mao grinned.  
  
"It's fun, you should try it sometime, oh wait.. you already have excusive rights to one don't you" Mao finished his grin even wider. Enishi frowned down at him, which wasn't hard to do, as Mao was almost a foot shorter than him. His frown widened as he looked over at the girls, and a few were staring at him quite intently, making 'eye's at him.  
  
"I have no interest in things like that" he said, clearing his throat as he all but stormed off... or rather walked off with the impression of storming  
  
Mao grinned as he watched Enishi leave.  
  
Sano stared down at Kenshin, who was going into convulsions muttering all sorts of nonsense as he clutched at his bandaged right hand. He hadn't been there to protect him, although Kenshin had been there for him so many times. He punched the wall, cursing as his hand went through. He'd have to fix that later.  
  
He'd almost attacked the man that had brought Kenshin back, but the look he'd given him was so frightening it had paralyzed him. The man didn't say much... or rather the boy didn't as he had looked no older than sixteen. He had only told Sano that Kenshin had tried to kill Kaoru on purpose this time.  
  
Sano had been surprised at that, and hadn't gotten a chance to ask any questions before the bloody Kenshin was dumped in his arms and the boy took off. The most surprising thing that day though, was the glimpse he thought he'd caught of Saitoh, smoking lazily at a corner as he leaned against the wall. But when Sano looked back, he wasn't there.  
  
Nothing was right this week. He frowned. Wei Li had been locked up in her room crying since she saw Kenshin come back all bloody. She was afraid her life might be falling apart all over again. And rightly so, they'd had so much blissful happiness that it was only to be expected that something would go wrong.  
  
And then today Yahiko confessed that he'd suspected it for quite some time. He told Sano that he'd been quiet about it, but they'd been watched by one of Enishi's minions, and also, he'd discovered just recently, by Saitoh.  
  
Sano had been in a daze ever since. So it was true... seeing Saitoh hadn't just been some delusion, unlike the haunting Sano had at night in his sleep, Saitoh was really here. Sano didn't know what to think. He didn't even know that he should be thinking anything.  
  
Why did 'Jime have to torment him so much, his mind mused as he clutched at his bandana with one hand, tearing it off and watching the fabric flutter, red against his callused, but pale hand.  
  
"I don't deserve this" he muttered, "Or do I..." He said afterwards, sinking his forehead into his hands. "I must be in hell" he said to the ground.  
  
Wei Li sat in her room leaning against the wall, out of view of the window, the knife shaking in her grasp. Did she really have the courage to do this? She thought, did she really have a choice, her mind finished for her as she sighed.  
  
'Even if my soul is damned for this, there's still a chance that afterwards there is nothing. Blissful nothing... I'm already damned anyway.' she thought as the cold steel touched her wrists.  
  
'Kenshin will remember everything soon, and I don't want Sano to know that... what I did' she squinted her eyes as a red bead appeared on one wrist, quickly expanding into a stream. It wasn't fast enough.. She  
  
cut the other wrist quickly, and it flowed freely. She watched it pool on he ground.  
  
"He hasn't come to see me" she whispered to the empty air "Does  
  
that mean he already knows? She sobbed into her hands why hadn't she died yet. Why was it taking so long? He wouldn't come.  
  
She lifted the knife once more as it almost fell from her grasp, the handle slick with blood and sorrow. With one last cut, another stream of blood joined the rest, falling from her neck to pool above her breasts before trailing between them.  
  
The life faded out of her eyes as she slumped against the wall, sliding to the side to rest with a final thud on the ground.  
  
Sanosuke was interrupted from his daze by a muffled thud from upstairs. He glanced up from his hands, and then looked at the stairs blankly for a minute. Finally it dawned on him and he stood up, rushing up the stairs towards Wei Li's room.  
  
"Are you ok?" He shouted into the door as he jiggled the locked doorknob. There was no response. He paused falling into silence as he listened for any movement.  
  
"Wei Li?" He queried quietly, then again more desperately. Still no response was forthcoming.  
  
He burst open the door frantically and rushed into the room, peering about until his eyes rested on her, covered in blood, her skin sickly sticking out, swollen and festering around the cuts on her body. It seemed more like she had been dead for hours, or perhaps days, with the grayish pallor that her face took Sano wondered if that wasn't in fact the case, as he sunk slowly on his knees besides her, too upset to even weep.  
  
He collected her body to him, The blood clinging to his skin stickily like so much poison. He wondered if it was because he had left her so long, neglected her in favor of taking care of the crazed and injured Kenshin.  
  
He had thought she wanted to be alone, and now, he was alone, without his... without his.. He paused, a new thought occurring to him. Was it because he hadn't married her? Made an honest woman out of her as she'd so often joked?  
  
He should have taken the clue then, He didn't know why he'd hesitated to tie the knot in the first place. A child was as good as one, he'd often reasoned to himself. The child.. the girl... his little girl would grow up without a mother now. He clinched his eyes shut as he clasped Wei Li tighter to him, oblivious of the footsteps behind him.  
  
"My dear precious Sano" A voice spoke behind him. He froze, he knew that voice. He shivered, afraid to let go of the dead girl in his arms and face the terror behind him. But the next words shook him.  
  
"If you're reading this, than the guilt finally overtook me" Saitoh read smoothly. "I couldn't stand it anymore, but this is the only way I could bear to tell you." Saitoh stopped as the note was snatched out of his hands by an angry Sano. Saitoh smiled to know he still caused the same reaction in the rooster head as before. He looked disdainfully at the body on the ground, sunk in it's own blood, that was also starting to soak into the wood.  
  
He leaned against the wall, watching Sano's eyes brush over the words on the letter. Saitoh was surprised he even knew how to read, being a low class brat. 'So the girl had betrayed him.' Saitoh thought, recalling the words in the letter that he'd read to himself before reading aloud, knowing it would be snatched from him soon after.  
  
Kenshin had mental lapses, and apparently the girl had noticed and taken advantage of it one night when Sano was out working. Saitoh was surprised that Sano hadn't noticed that his daughter had violet eyes. Maybe the boy was colorblind.  
  
Saitoh stared apathetically as a furious Sano stood before him, note crumbled in his hand. He didn't even Flinch as Sano punched right through the wall, barely a centimeter from Saitoh's head. Sano clenched his teeth, although it seemed like he wanted to say something, but his eyes betrayed him as tears formed in the corners and started to fall down his cheeks.  
  
Saitoh thought to himself that Sano never looked younger or more fragile than that moment. His hair was falling softly about his face, since he wasn't wearing the usual bandana. Saitoh continued to stare coldly, when Sano fell against his chest, sobbing.  
  
"Jime?" he whispered forlornly "Why do people I love keep on dying on me?" he spoke even as he soaked the uniform of the former Shinsengumi member.  
  
"Ahou" Saitoh said as he lit a cigarette and looked off over Sano's head. "People Die" he answered simply, inhaling deeply and blowing out a puff of smoke. This wasn't exactly as he'd imagined his next meeting with the thick-brained Rooster head would be. Oh well, there was nothing to be done for it now. He continued to stare off at the wall while the young Sano sobbed deeply into his chest.  
  
**********************************************  
  
hopefully this fixed up that durn format thing... we'll see I guess.  
  
Ok, you guys have a choice here. The next installment of the story can either be Sano and Saitoh's story (though mind you although I am fond of them as a couple, I will absolutely not! Write any lemons… anyone else could feel free to write them for my story though, if they were interested)  
  
Or if no one particularly is curious what happens to them, (and theirs would be an interestingly strange story I assure you) Then I will go on to the previously planned Aoshi Misao one.  
  
If you're worried about it taking to long to get to the aoshi misao one… fear not, I'd be writing the two at the same time… since that's when they'd occur loosely.  
  
I look forward to whatever comments suggestions, constructive criticism… maybe even an amusing flame or two, that you may have.  
  
Don't worry, I fully intend on finishing Rose colored glass in a timely fashion when I get my computer online again. Also check out loosing my senses, new enishi kaoru fic by me. Alt universe ^__^ 


	34. XXXIV-Slowly softly, fell the snow

Aoshi panicked. Misao was nowhere to be found, and none of the others knew where she went. They weren't worried, being used to her running off, but she'd never run off while he was there. Expecially without trying to bring him along.  
  
It could only mean one thing. She'd either found out that Kaoru and Yahiko were missing, or she'd found out that Aoshi was hiding something from her. Either way it meant she had gone off to the Dojo. He cursed that he'd given her the chance to slip away when he was taking care of some old business last night.  
  
He'd made it known that he didn't want her following him, He should have suspected something when she didn't complain. He donned his traveling garb, sheathing his two kodachi blades, and sliding a few knifes in his boots for good measure, ignoring the questioning looks from the others of the former oniwabanshu. He took off quickly out of the city to the long trek toThe Kamia dojo  
  
Kaoru sighed as she laid back in the bed. She'd been stuck there for days now, and frankly, she was getting tired of it. She had passed the time sleeping, only because it made time pass faster. But one could only sleep so much, and it was little help other than to keep her up nights instead of during the day.  
  
Enishi had brought her a few books to read, and that had helped until she started reading them... Even though she was pretty well read herself, she didn't understand a lot of the Kanji. They were really Archaic, and Kaoru wondered if they weren't antiques.  
  
Among them, there was a small but substantial book of poetry, but poems weren't exactly the kind of thing you read strait through, so she could only spend a few minutes at a time musing over them.  
  
She opened the book again, leafing through it, when she noticed in the back there were some handwritten, rather than meticulously printed poems. She noticed further that the handwriting was similar to Enishi's calligraphy, yet not quite as neat.  
  
They were dated, If they were indeed Enishi's, they were written when he was around the same age as she was now (it had taken a while for her to get Enishi's age from him, but apparently he's near five years older than her)  
  
The poems, were delicate. Or at least that was the first word that came to mind when she read them. They weren't the typical Haiku, and didn't seem to have any other sense of rythem, but the still sounded poetic to her ears.  
  
Some of them were simple, describing the path of a firefly over the night sky, or the fall of rain on a dying fire. It seemed odd that Enishi would have a hobby of writing poetry, and she wondered if he'd even remembered that he'd written in the back pages of this book.  
  
She turned to the last page to find an uncompleted poem that stuck in her mind for as long as she could remember afterwards. It was written neatly, and the ink still shone as if it hadn't dried more than a few hours ago.  
  
Gently falling softly, softly  
  
Fell the snow on frozen lips  
  
As I watched you crying softly  
  
Blood had soaked thyne fingertips  
  
I did not know what words to speak  
  
So silently I stood still  
  
Would you have belived me had I said  
  
All faults aside, my love is real  
  
So slowly, slowly I crept backwards  
  
Running through the trees and hills  
  
To be denied I was afraid  
  
For I as well, blood had spilled...  
  
It ended there, although it seemed to trail off, waiting for the next verse. Kaoru felt almost drawn, as she picked up a calligraphy brush that had waited there from her earlier attempts to do some calligraphy without moving wrong. She had before found it difficult to do without sitting up. But now she was writing in a book. She only hopped the ink wouldn't drip.  
  
There I fell into the snow  
  
Staring at my own bloodstained hands  
  
Oblivious, I did not know  
  
Behind me you did softly stand  
  
You took my tears and wiped them dry  
  
And all my fears were washed away  
  
For although I too was stained in blood,  
  
In your gentle eyes I drift away  
  
You took my face into your hands  
  
And leaving behind a reddish tint,  
  
You kissed me, making no demands  
  
As warmth once more touched my frozen lips.  
  
Kaoru stopped, adding a small flourish to the last word, and quickly setting the book down, face up on the table before the ink started to run. She sighed, still not knowing why she had finished it, and wondering if she should have written in somebody else's book.  
  
Then she wondered what it would be like to be kissed by Enishi. She shook her head as if to shake off the thought, feeling her face turn red. She realized, for the first time in years that she'd thought about it, she'd never really been kissed.  
  
That boy that kissed her when she was seven didn't count at all. She chuckled to herself, remembering that they'd both wondered what it would be like, and then after doing it, wondered why anyone even bothered. She sighed, staring off at the wall for a while.  
  
Enishi had undoubtedly undressed her more than once, so she was sure he'd seen her naked, and of course at the castle... she trailed off, not even wanting to think about that. At least she hoped it had been Enishi that had undressed her rather than some stranger. She scowled at the wall. If it had been alive it likely would have run away.  
  
Kaoru laid back on the pillow with a soft thud, as she'd barely been sitting up herself, the wound not allowing for it. They'd told her she was very lucky it hadn't hit anything vital, although it had been very close to her kidney. Although she wasn't sure what a kidney was, she was sure if it was inside her she didn't want it cut open. No telling what kind of trouble that could cause.  
  
She briefly wondered why everything that had happened in the last  
  
few days wasn't bothering her, but the answer quickly came to mind. She'd seen worse. Not a phrase she was used to hearing. Usually everything that happened was worse.  
  
But after a while, nothing worse can happen can it? She shook her head, knowing that wasn't true. Not only had she seen worse, She could imagine multiple cases in which it could be worse.  
  
Disturbingly, one of the worst things that came to mind was being without Enishi. When Exactly had she become so attached to him. She shrugged mentally. All that mattered was that she had, and she didn't mind in the least bit.  
  
Kaoru yawned as she finally felt sleep overtaking her. She soon drifted off into the silence of dreams, unaware of Enishi quietly walking in to check on her, and then reading what she had written.  
  
She did, although, feel him brush his thumb across her lips, and also the sensation of something softer, but she thought it all a dream, and drifted even more readily into darkness.  
  
He found her sitting on the wooden floor of the Dojo, idly flicking her braid to and fro with her hand. But he knew better than to take it as a sign of boredom. She was very upset. Not angry, not sad, but upset. An emotion between the two, when one was not sure what to do.  
  
In such times, Misao often seemed bored. But he knew her mind was  
  
just stewing at whatever bugged her. In this case, as in many, he already knew what it was before she said anything. And unfortunately she knew that he knew...  
  
"Kaoru went after Kenshin, he's in China." Misao said curtly "But you already knew that didn't you" she finished. See? Aoshi told himself. She knew. He nodded  
  
"Aa" He replied, not one to act guilty or even slightly ashamed even if he was. He'd never been a child, he'd never learned to act like one. Misao glared at him as if he was mocking her. He knew better than to think her mad at him. She never got mad at him, did she? He held back a wince, hoping it was the situation she was mad at and not him.  
  
She usually understood his reasoning, even if she didn't like it.  
  
That was the way of people who thought they were head over heels in love. But Aoshi knew better It was just an infatuation of what she thought him to be, his image, He didn't believe much in love. Not the kind Misao claimed to have for him anyhow, though she'd never said it, he could tell what she would say.  
  
Kaoru woke up refreshed. Today she should be able to move around a  
  
bit, as long as she didn't overdo it, the doctor had said. Kaoru chuckled at the fact that the doctor had done next to nothing, Mao had told her that it had been Enishi who had sewn her up and bandaged her, although he admitted that he had concocted the herbal mix that was used.  
  
Mao told her he knew all sorts of silly witchcrafts, grinning as he related some pretty normal everyday things. The only difference is he had learned it all from a little old sinister looking lady, Mao had joked. Kaoru remembered asking about How Enishi learned how to sew, but she couldn't quite remember how Mao had changed the subject.  
  
Kaoru smiled, she enjoyed Mao's company because he didn't hesitate to talk. Kaoru was rather curious why there was such a change from his personality now, and the one he'd had in the pit. Mao had mumbled something about being a veggitarian and left it at that, gaining a giggle out of Kaoru. She didn't believe for once that was the whole reason, but she was content to leave it at that. Mao was a man of many masks, lifelike, unlike the cold silence Enishi often wore. They both undoubtedly had excellent reasons for it. Kaoru herself was developing a sort of mask. She was unused to hiding her emotions, but in some cases in seemed necessary.  
  
Kaoru rose gently from the bed, with the help of a chair that was  
  
placed next to it, and kind of limped downstairs, leaning over her stomach a bit because it hurt to much to stand up strait. Kaoru rose a hand to her cheek as she felt a slight twinge from the scar there. That part of her face still went numb sometimes, causing her eye to twitch. She grinned goofily, what a sight that must be.  
  
She sighed. Two scars now, her vanity had taken quite a toll in the last year. And now she was an invalid too... for the time being anyhow. Kaoru looked up as she felt someone watching her. Enishi seemed to tower above her slouching form. He seemed to be calculation something, but she figured he'd likely decided on it already as out of nowhere she found herself carried in his arms towards the restraunt portion of the inn.  
  
"You shouldn't walk so much all in the first day" he said in explaination. Kaoru mumbled that she had been doing fine. "Well then let me carry you anyways, if just to humor me" He replied. Kaoru looked up at him to find him looking at her with an amused shine to his eyes. Kaoru smiled and nodded, not being able to deny him that much.  
  
"I suppose if that's what it takes to make you happy" Kaoru said with a mock sigh of defeat.  
  
"That's what it takes" Enishi finished with a slight smile.  
  
"You see girls, that's his poor invalid little sister he takes care of" Mao could be heard whispering not at all quietly to a gaggle of girls that surrounded him, listening intently. "And he only has eyes for her... It's a most incestuous relationship." Mao finished off as if it was the greatest secret in existance. The girls gasped in surprise and he sent them off as Enishi placed Kaoru down on the round booth seat.  
  
"You're having entirely too much fun with those girls" Enishi said  
  
with a raised eyebrow. Mao grinned  
  
"But they're so gulible." He snickered "I told them that I was the  
  
prince of Egypt and they believed me"  
  
"Mao... I doubt they know what Egypt is, or that with your coloring, it would be nigh impossible for you to have been born there, much less rule." Mao shrugged at Enishi's response as if to say 'so what'  
  
"It's still pretty fun, and they've no use otherwise" Enishi smirked wickedly at that, taking the opportunity to get back at Mao for the teasing from yesterday  
  
"Oh?" he querried impetuously "That's not what you told me  
  
yesterday" Kaoru laughed.  
  
"You guys... are no different from schoolboys!" she said having trouble choking out the words between laughter. Mao glowered at Enishi, and then turned to Kaoru with a grin. Enishi just sat there with the same halfsmile throughout the rest of the meal.  
  
  
  
It was three more weeks before Kaoru fully recovered. She was pleased to discover that the scar seemed to be fading already. Mao told her it was due to that oily mix in the concoction he gave her to use on it, while he said that Enishi likely thought it was his small stitches that had done it.  
  
Kaoru had laughed good naturedly and said it was likely both. Those two were constantly bickering... although Enishi always used subtle comments. Mao definatly held nothing back, acting all of the 16 years he looked, despite his actual age.  
  
Kaoru wandered around the inn, trying to locate Enishi, when she finally found him in his room... the first place she'd looked. She briefly wondered how she'd missed him, when she noticed he was packing and felt a sense of panic overtake her.  
  
"Ah.." she started, causing him to glance around at her "Are you leaving soon?" she asked. Enishi nodded, brushing a hand through his hair. (though it all just fell back exactly where it had been before)  
  
"Tomorrow morning" he said, leaning against the table, waiting for her to speak her mind.  
  
"...Where are you going to" she said hesitantly  
  
"You remember the place a few days south of here." he stated with a gentle smile as he indicated the direction with his hand.  
  
"Is Mao going too?" she querried. Enishi nodded.  
  
"Mao is going too."  
  
"Am I going too?" she whispered, her hands unconsciously clasped nervously. Enishi's eyes widened slightly as he realised what was bothering her. He grinned widely as he motioned for her to come over to him. Kaoru hesitantly walked over, and stopped two feet in front of him.  
  
Enishi grasped her chin in one hand and leaned over and lightly kissed her, gaining an amusingly startled expression from her.  
  
"I wouldn't have it any other way" Enishi said still smiling at her. Kaoru smiled back as she couldn't help the tears that threatened to peek from her eyes.  
  
"Do that again" she said. And Enishi pulled her into his arms and kissed her harder.  
  
"You go too" he mumbled against her mouth, gaining a laugh from her. He pulled away, eyed her a little funny and then went in for another kiss, this time opening his mouth to hers as he nibbled on her lower lip until he coaxed her to open her mouth in return.  
  
What seemed like minutes later, they drew apart breathing heavily,  
  
although Enishi you could only tell by the rise and fall of his chest, while Kaoru made it quite known that she was out of breath. Enishi smiled at her as he still held her in his arms against him.  
  
"Mao said things like this can be great fun" he chuckled "Now I think I tend to agree with him" Enishi said with a grin. Kaoru's eyes widened as she realized that meant he'd never... that..  
  
She laughed wholeheartedly as he pulled her to the bed with him to start a night that would mark the beginning of the rest of their future together. Kaoru smiled happily, now that she could finally get her hands on Enishi... and also because she knew that no matter what happened, it couldn't possibly pull them apart. It couldn't be worse, because the worst would never happen now.  
  
  
  
Cheeeeeze!!! =P obvious cheeze... but enjoy what you can of it because the next two or three stories in this series will likely have little to none... more likely none.... ^__^ fun for me, fun for you... hell for the poor widdo characters.  
  
Pleh, you wouldn't believe what I went through to get this up. My computer had difficulties… and I ended up having to write this in notepad, instead of Microsoft word. That was a real pain… especially since I had to do it without a mouse… heheheh. Lol, but that didn't phase me!!!  
  
I was going to have it out by the fifth… but unfortunately, my friend who had a computer I could use went out of town. And since I'm not getting my internet connection hooked up until the 14th, I couldn't very well wait! So finally I went to the library… but I didn't see anything to suggest that I could use a disk… I was distraught, and afraid I might not meet my deadline due to extenuating circumstances… but then I found quite by accident that the disk thingy was on the side of the monitor… lol  
  
If some things in this story seem unfinished… remember it's a series ^__^ 


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